The Young Folk
by Moni
Summary: Kinda AU. Set after Gideon’s gone but before Rossi. With Gideon gone the team is on edge and Reid is spiralling out of control. Now the BAU are sent to the land down under to profile a serial killer and are teamed up with an old friend of Reid’s
1. The Fourth Victim

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own nothing. I don't own Criminal Minds, Vimes and Jacobson are based off a character from Gary Disher novels. And of course I'm borrowing the name Vimes from the fantastically brilliant Terry Pratchett. While this story is not about him, Ivan Milat 'the Backpacker murderer' is real, his crimes were horrible. May we never see his kind in Australia again._

_Oh and by the by I'm aware there are probably some glaringly obvious plot holes in this story. No flames please, just enjoy._

_**Summary: (Set after Gideon's gone but before Joe Mantenega so maybe AU) **__With Gideon gone the team is on edge and Reid is spiralling out of control. Now the BAU are sent to the land down under to profile a serial killer and are teamed up with an old friend of Reid's. Can she help catch the killer and save Reid from himself? Or will her own demons get the better of her? __**(Reid & OC friendship, maybe more not sure yet)**_

Dr. Evie 'don't call me Evangeline' Vimes swatted a fly away with her hand.

There were two reasons for the amount of flies.

One, it was the height of summer in Australia. Flies were just a part of summer along with the dry heat and the bushfires.

Vimes was currently standing by the side of the Hume Highway the sun beating down on her making her sticky and uncomfortable, the flies adding to her irritation.

The second reason for the flies was that a few metres back in the scrub, in grave where there should be no grave, there was a body.

It hadn't been the first. It was the fourth so far.

Vimes frowned at a passing car that had slowed down to gawk.

Police had sectioned off this part of the road but were allowing cars to pass through one at a time. 'Everybody loves a bit of gore' she thought.

"Bloody bastard thinks he's Ivan Milat"

Vimes looked at the man who spoke "I don't think so Sarge, he's clearly using him for inspiration, choice of location and victims obviously, but no he's very… meticulous".

Detective Inspector Fred Jacobson gave Vimes a sideways glance.

He hadn't been a Sergeant for years so the title was more a term of affection on the girl's part, she was after all virtually his surrogate daughter.

Jacobson didn't like her to see such gruesome sights either but it was her choice, he'd known all along she'd end up something of a criminal profiler.

She's grown up pottering around the local police station but she was far too clever to end up your run-of-the-mill copper.

She was always asking "why?"

"Some kind of genius!" Jacobson remembered her father had gushed to him after a visit with a child psychologist once, "I knew she was a sharp one, can you imagine what she could be when she grows up?"

So there she stood, twenty-five years old, a deep frown on her usually sweet face.

"Meticulous?" he enquired.

Vimes folded her arms and jerked her head towards the body "slashes the throat, stabs the heart, just once. Milat was more frenzied, this guy likes to sit back and watch them die".

Arms still folded she wandered back over to the grave site "it's pretty deep for a shallow grave and you can tell he spent time carefully digging it. Look at the dimensions, perfect. He didn't just dump the body he gave it an almost proper burial".

'So deep, we never would have found it if a family hadn't stopped here for a toilet break' she thought. The family dog had started sniffing around, started digging…

The other three were easier to find, the graves weren't so deep. This had probably been the first one he killed, but no one had found it, nobody gave him any recognition for what he had done.

So the next time, he made sure he'd gotten their attention, and the time after that, and the time after that.

She pinched the brow of her nose, sometimes it did all get to her.

"Well if it's any consolation you'll be getting some help soon" Jacobson said gently, almost reading her thoughts.

Vimes sighed "there's plenty of police and forensic psychologists already pouring through the case. What more could they possibly want?"

"Team of profilers from the U.S" Jacobson replied, "victims one and two were American remember? Bit of an outcry over there. So they're sending a group of F.B.I profilers from their Behaviour Analysis Unit over to help out" he made a face, "I've been put on bloody chauffer duty, have to pick them from the airport later tonight".

Vimes gave a little snicker "you going to remember their names or are you just going to hold up a sign with 'Feds' on it?"

"Oh you should have become a comedian" Jacobson rolled his eyes, then sheepishly he took out the piece of paper on which he had written down the names of all the people he had to pick up, "Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner, Senior Special Agent Morgan, Special Agent Prentiss and Special Agent Dr. Reid".

Vimes snickered again at the mouthful of titles then stopped, "wait is that a Spencer Reid?"

Jacobson looked at the paper again, "Spencer Reid yes, why?"

Vimes grinned "when you pick them up tell him that I said 'sorry about your wrist'"..

………………………………………………………………………………………...

A few hours later the sun was setting, Vimes sat in her hotel room deep in thought. Spencer Reid huh? One of the few people to ever make her feel, well not dumb, but not so smart. A profiler too, she had to laugh at that.

She thought about the tiny skinny kid with glasses and wondered how much he'd changed in seventeen years.

Her mobile phone ringing shook her from her thoughts, she flipped it open "hello?"

"Hi sweet pea"

Vimes stiffened at the pet name, "Hi. How are things?"

"Okay, I saw you on the television"

T.V crews had swarmed the crime scene like vultures, "yeah" was all Vimes said.

Silence at the other end.

Then "sweet pea you know I love you don't you?"

"Yes I do"

"You forgive me don't you?"

"Of course I do"

"I'd take it back if I could"

Vimes' tone were terse "I know you would"

"Okay well my time's almost up. I should go"

"Bye"

"Bye sweet pea".

Vimes heard the phone click, she closed her phone and rested it against her chin.

Slowly she got up and headed to the bathroom. She peeled away her sticky clothing and jumped under the shower.

Letting the warm water wash over her, Evie Vimes pressed her head against the tiled wall and cried.


	2. Welcome BAU

"Good evening passengers. We are now beginning our descent into Melbourne Airport, we will be landing shortly. We ask that…"

Supervisory Special Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner didn't bother to listen to the rest of the announcment, he'd been on enough planes to know the drill.

He rubbed his eyes and yawned, he'd lost count of how many hours they'd been on the plane for but he knew he hadn't slept one minute of them.

Hotch tried to put it down to his biological clock being out of wack from the time difference, the fact that he was used to being up at all hours because of his baby boy and the annoyance at being sent half a world away from his family because of one (dare he think it?) bitch of a Section Chief.

Section Chief Erin Strauss. When the public demanded American intervention in the serial killing going on in Australia, Strauss had looked like a cat who had gotten all the cream, she knew _exactly _who to send. It was to get them out of the way, Hotch knew that, thank God J.J and Garcia were there to hold the fort.

"She won't get a foot in the door" J.J had assured him.

Garcia had offered to do various nasty things to Strauss' hard drive, many involving the word 'pornography'.

Hotch sighed, if he were honest with himself, the real reason he wasn't sleeping was Jason Gideon.

Jason Gideon was gone and he wasn't coming back.

The brilliant agent had barely even walked out the door when Hotch and his team were bundled off and sent down under. There'd been no time to pick up the pieces.

There was a snore to his right. Senior Special Agent Derek Morgan was the only member of the team who had managed to sleep, probably because he'd worn himself out being so vocal about his feelings on Gideon's departure. Everyone knew what he felt and he didn't care, it didn't take the anger away though.

Hotch glanced to his left, Special Agent Emily Prentiss stared sullenly out the plane window. She'd barely spoken a word, an inner turmoil was written all over her face. Hotch felt he should speak to her, help through whatever was going on but he had a far bigger problem to deal with.

That problem two seats to the right, with his nose buried in a thick book.Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid had had a _very_ bad year. As if being kidnapped and tortured by a dissociative serial killer wasn't bad enough, now he'd lost his mentor. Hotch felt a pang of sympathy for the young man, it was the second time in his life a father had walked out on him.

It then was no surprise that Spencer Reid was angry. Still, Hotch thought, being angry was no excuse for showing up to work late and letting his case work slacken. Reid was distracted, nervy and snapping at everyone for every little thing, especially Prentiss.

He'd been like this for a while after his abduction, Hotch thought, and he had slowly begun to get better. Now Gideon was gone, it was 'one step forward and two steps back' for Reid.

Hotch sighed, Reid might have three PhDs but he was still so very young, a lost and lonely boy.

A lost and lonely boy who need guidance and care.

With Gideon gone Hotch was determined to fulfil that role completely, he would not lose another member of his team.

He'd lost Elle Greenaway, he'd lost Gideon, he would _not_ lose Reid.

As if to prove the point to himself, Hotch leaned over the sleeping form of Morgan and called quietly across the aisle "Reid".

The young agent looked up from his book "yes?"

"Have you looked over the case file yet?"

Reid shook his head "I'll read it in the hotel room".

Hotch felt a surge of anger and disappointment. Reid had not shown up at the BAU for the briefing, instead leaving a message that he would meet them at the airport where Hotch had given him a copy of the case file to read.

"You've had at least twenty hours to read that file Reid" he admonished the boy.

Reid looked at him "I'm sorry. I've had a lot on my mind. I'll read it in the hotel room".

Hotch studied Reid's impassive expression, was he challenging him? Was he daring Hotch to call him on his behaviour, to admit what was going on? Was it a cry for help?

The plane bumped slightly as it landed and Morgan lurched forward, waking to find his face pressed against the back of Hotch's head.

Hotch pulled back and gave Reid a final glance "make sure you do".

* * *

Derek Morgan tried to remember a time before the Twin Towers had been attacked when it didn't take forever to get through customs. By the time he had walked out of the international terminal, he was ready to sleep again.

Looking up at the many eager faces, ready to greet loved ones he saw a greying man standing behind the rest. He held in his hands a small sign which read 'Feds'.

Morgan walked up and look at the sign with amusement.

"Sorry" the man said with a smile and tucked the sign under his arm, "I was put up to it by a certain forensic psychologist who now owes me a considerable sum of money".

Morgan laughed "we'll I'm not one to say 'no' to a dare either".

As the other member of the BAU caught up they each received a curt nod from the man "welcome and thank-you for coming. I'm Detective Inspector Fred Jacobson".

Hotch returned the nod "we'll do all we can to help. I'm Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner, Senior Special Agent Morgan you've already met, this is Special Agent Prentiss and Special Agent Dr. Reid".

Jacobson shook each of their hands firmly "the Commissioner asked me to come greet you and escort you all to Eurora. Sorry there isn't a bigger welcoming committee but the media are going ape over this already, we don't want even more attention"

"No you did the right thing" Hotch informed Jacobson, "the unsub clearly wants the media's attention. Pictures of us all over the news would only encourage him".

Jacobson nodded "follow me".

He led them to a large four-wheel drive parked outside.

"Oh Dr. Reid" Jacobson added as an afterthought as he climbed into the driver's seat, "I've a message for you"

Reid blinked in surprise, "I'm sorry?"

"Dr. Evie Vimes wanted me to tell you that she's sorry about your wrist".


	3. Ah When We Were Young

For the first time since Gideon's departure a smile broke across Reid's face, even more surprising to his team Reid doubled over in a fit of laughter.

Jacobson grinned, "Well we've got a long drive ahead of us. Would you mine sharing this joke on the way?"

"It's really not that funny" Reid said as he buckled his seat belt.

"A sort 'you had to be there moment'" Prentiss volunteered.

"More like a, 'we were kids' moment" Reid shot back and Prentiss recoiled at the venom in his voice, she couldn't say anything right.

"So explain this moment" Morgan said trying to disarm the situation with a friendly grin.

"Well" Reid began, "when I was eight I was enrolled in an international program for gifted children. The 'Future Stars Program'. It was in Washington DC, it went for six months and was payed for by the education departments of 6 different countries, America, England, Australia, Canada, Germany and New Zealand"

There was a snort from Jacobson "Kiwis".

Unsure what he meant, Reid continued.

"It was like an intensive boarding school. Honestly, they didn't teach us anything I didn't already know but the true premise of it was a longitudinal study anyway. They plan to follow the students up twenty years from the time the original program was underway".

"Right" Morgan was bored with the official details, "and Dr. Vimes was in this program?"

"Oh yes" Jacobson nodded with vague memory, "her father was a proud as punch"

"And you're wrist?" Morgan probed Reid.

Spencer Reid began to tell the story and let himself drift back into memories…

_Evie had been his friend, his only friend. Even though they we're brilliant children, he was still far ahead._

_Intellectually gifted but socially awkward, he'd been the only one left in the playground once everybody had chosen their friends for the next six months._

_Or so he thought._

"_Come baaack!"_

_Spencer turned his head to see a fair-haired girl chasing a squirrel around an oak tree. The squirrel ran up the tree out of reach but the girl still looked at it with fascination._

"_We don't have these in Australia" she explained when she noticed Spencer staring, "we've got possums but they're nocturnal"_

"_That's a squirrel" Reid explained, "it belongs to the __Sciuridae__ family and is native to parts of Europe, Asia and the Americas"._

_The girl nodded, taking the information in, "what would happen if I introduced it into Australia?"_

_A number of statistics about introduced species raced through Reid's head, he opened his mouth-_

"_That would be a bad idea right?" the girl answered for him._

"_Right" Reid nodded._

"_Well then, I'll only keep it as a pet while I'm here" the girl said walking around the base of the tree._

"_What are you doing?" Reid asked._

"_Getting my Squirrel. I'm Evie by the way" the girl replied finding a good foothold, "what's a good name for a Squirrel?"_

"_I'm Spencer. How about __Pattertwig__?" Reid said as the girl swung herself up into the branches._

"_Oh yeah from Prince Caspian!" Vimes replied from up in the boughs, "come on get up here, it's great! We can share him"._

_Spencer Reid hadn't climbed a tree before and logic told him it would not be a good idea._

_However, not many children invited him to play with them, let alone share something with them, so he followed exactly as Vimes had done and swung himself up into the tree._

"_Can you see Pattertwig?" Vimes asked straddled across another branch and looking around._

_Reid turned his head slightly and could see the squirrel out of the corner of his eye, he lunged for it- and fell._

_The result had been a broken wrist, a hysterical Vimes who demanded to the attending nurse's qualifications and a night in the infirmary which really turned into Spencer Reid's first sleepover when Vimes snuck in with an abundance of pilfered sweets she had taken from the store room._

_The next six months they had been inseparable and had both been devastated when it came to an end but, children being children, they moved on and forgot._

"Did you ever get your hands on the squirrel?" Hotch enquired.

"No" Reid shook his head, "but we did leave food at the bottom of the tree each day".


	4. Relapse

_A.N: Thanks Mary, that's a good idea. I'll feed that into this chapter. Also Reid's still using. I'm not sure how he'd get the stuff through customs but I thought, hey he's a genius he'd probably find a way._

* * *

Reid rubbed his eyes and stared at himself in the mirror, had he looked so ill before that little problem of his?

His features were gaunt, cheeks sunken and dark rings under his eyes.

At least the dark ring he could put down to the gruelling, sleepless flight.

The exhaustion had caught up with him in the car.

The story he had told had lightened the atmosphere in the car briefly…until Jacobson had begun to tell the team about the fourth victim they had found that morning.

Suddenly he had felt his mood change as it did so often nowadays and he had leaned his head against the car window, pretending to be asleep so he wouldn't have to participate in the conversation.

The next thing he knew Morgan was shaking him gently "Reid I don't care if you weigh the same as a feather man, I'm not carrying you to your room".

Yawning, Reid wandered out from the bathroom into the bedroom of his tiny motel room.

He picked up the case file and flicked through it. He'd already read it a few minutes ago, each detail filed neatly into his eidetic memory but he had felt a twinge of guilt about having left it so long.

There was now a section tacked onto the end, the victim that had been found this morning. Looking over the details and the neatly typed report of Evie Vimes, Reid knew she was right.

It had been the first, even without the coroner's report it was easy to tell. The body hadn't been buried too much longer than the others but the grave had been dug slowly and carefully. 'He was proud' Reid thought.

Flicking back over the last victims (this one was yet to be identified), Reid sighed.

Victimology was obvious, travellers in their early 20s, gender didn't seem to play a role and there was no evidence of any sexual interaction. The first victim found had been a Scottish girl, making her way to the Golburn Valley for a fruit picking holiday.

The next two were an American couple on their way up to Sydney, they were the reason that the BAU had been sent out.

The boy, no older than Reid was the son of a particularly influential congressman.

'Not that it would matter to the unsub' Reid thought to himself, 'it was just a bonus that it generated this much attention'.

It didn't matter who you were the moment they had you, you were just a victim.

_Shoot him! Shoot him!_

Reid shuddered at the memory, at least it hadn't been a full blown flashback this time.

All of a sudden there was a loud grunting noise from outside, like wild boars.

Reid squeaked and took a step back, tripping over his discarded suitcase falling flat on his back.

He lay still and stared at the ceiling. There was no noise save for the grunting.

Reid decided it mustn't be anything to worry about and picked himself up off the floor.

Still the sound had put him on edge, he dug through his suitcase until he found what he was looking for. The small kit which contained a small vial of Dilaudid, a rubber band and a syringe.

He had beaten it, he thought desperately as he began inject the drug, he _had_.

After New Orleans, after the talk with Gideon.

Once they were home, Reid had grabbed the vials from his apartment and raced to Gideon's home.

Gideon had simply taken the vials from the agitated boy and poured them down the sink while Reid sat on the couch, head in his hands, sobbing.

Gideon had helped him through the withdrawal process and he hadn't told a soul, he respected Reid after all and Reid's need for privacy.

Now Gideon was gone and that had hurt so much that Reid, angry and alone, returned to the easiest solution to numb the pain.

The others would find out soon enough, Gideon would contact them and tell them the truth.

He knew Reid was using again. He had called Reid shortly before they'd left to see if he was okay, to explain that he wasn't abandoning him, to make sure he wasn't using again.

Reid's only response had been "fuck you" and he'd hung up the phone.

Now Reid giggled as the drugs took effect, it wasn't a word that he'd used very often in his life and he had said it to a superior agent, something about that was simply hilarious.

Still lucid enough to pack away the evidence of his secret shame, Reid then clambered onto his bed closed his eyes and dreamed of his troubled childhood.

* * *


	5. The Morning

_Sorry. Really short chapter. I have to do actual work now. If people like it I'll add more_

* * *

Special Agent Emily Prentiss took a sip of her coffee, it wasn't bad coffee. It certainly was better than anything they'd had on the plane.

She'd risen early, wanting to see what she had missed in the dark and she didn't want to think about what was waiting for her back home. Exploration seemed a good distraction.

Euroa wasn't a huge town, off the Hume in bush land, it's main attraction appeared to be that the famous Bushranger Ned Kelly.

One on the people who ran the hotel was already outside raking up dead leaves and twigs. When he'd spotted Prentiss he gave her a grin and a nod "hold on I'll get you some brekkie"

He sat opposite Prentiss on the table outside drinking his own cup of coffee.

"Sleep all right love?"

"Not exactly" Prentiss said, "there were these weird grunting noises, like wild animals".

The man, whose name was Geoff, laughed, "yeah they're nasty little buggers".

"What are they?"

"Koalas"

The image of a cute furry little animal came to Prentiss' mind "_that's_ what they sound like?"

Geoff grinned again "yep. Don't go trying to cuddle one either, go to a wildlife park if you want to do that. Got those claws for a reason"

Prentiss turned her head to see a bleary-eyed Hotch walking towards them, followed by Morgan.

"Better go make some more coffee" Geoff said rising and giving Prentiss a wink

* * *

"So let's put together a profile" Hotch addressed his team.

It was only his team, Jacobson and the two Senior Sergeants in charge of Euroa Police Station sitting in the tiny conference room.

He had the feeling a lot of people on this case had taken offence to them being brought in.

Vimes wasn't there and Hotch had noted Reid's visible disappointment, but Jacobson had informed him that she was out talking to a possible witness, a farmer who seen a Ute stop along the Hume at that point.

As there was little, if any phone reception outside the town, they wouldn't know what Vimes had found out until she got back.

"Victimology" Hotch said and ran through the descriptions.

"It's a copy cat of Ivan Milat isn't it?" Prentiss asked.

"No" Reid and Jacobson said at the same time.

"Vimes told me that this guy was trying to show that he was better" Jacobson volunteered, "perfect and improve, not copy".

Reid just nodded.

The meeting continued and the profile was slowly getting constructed. Male, white, knowledge of the local area…

There was the sound of a door slamming outside and then the conference room door was flung open.

"Hazelnut was taking pot shots at me!"

The two Senior Sergeants shared a chuckle while Jacobson just looked exasperated "don't call him that, it's Hazelton".

The newcomer realised that there were more people in the room and her cheeks flushed red, "hello".

"Agents Hotchner, Morgan, Prentiss and Reid" Jacobson gestured, "may I introduce Dr. Vimes".


	6. Discussing the Witness

_Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews, it's great to know that you like it. By the way made a continuity mistake in chapter 4. First two victims found were the American couple, third victim Scottish girl, fourth victim currently unidentified male._

_**tearbos**__I know after I wrote that, my cuz (who is semi-co-author) went 'oh my God that's so sad take it out', and I said 'no I love Reid so I'm gonna make him suffer' – I'm weird that way._

_**Foxyladyhubbards:**__ See above ;-) don't worry, Reid's got a bit of growing to do. _

_**LNFPH4077:**__ Lol yes my cuz and I are both Australian and yes the koalas really do sound like that. First time I went camping in the bush I freaked out! My cuz is the one who's totally serious about being aussie, she lives out in the country I put it to that (she calls me the latte-sipping city chick). She won the bush style setting because I got my way with the main character (I wuv Reid, she wanted Morgan to lead)_

_**blackpanther2288**__Yeah I'm a goose, soon as I posted I thought 'duh! They've got their own plane', and yeah J.J should be over there. I kept her in the US coz I thought it was too many character to handle at once, but I'm gonna put a J.J & Garcia chapter in at some point (or if people want I can send her packing on a plane too, this is fanfiction after all)._

* * *

Vimes felt her cheeks grow hot as she looked at the four stunned but professional looking people who stared at her. The FBI profiling team.

She knew they were coming but she'd been so rattled by Hazelton shooting at her that she had forgotten they would already be there.

She yanked the akubra hat off her head and tried to look presentable.

The four looked at her with interest, three men and one woman, Vimes gave each a polite nod.

She ventured an apologetic smile to the young man who had to be Spencer Reid.

He'd certainly grown. Actually it was more like he had stretched. He was long and thin, 'like the boy who Willy Wonka put in the taffy puller' she thought to herself.

Reid gave her a warm greeting smile, but his face betrayed signs of… well many things, exhaustion and illness for a start. The eyes, the clear dark eyes overflowing with intelligence also seemed sad and troubled. The psychologist in Vimes instinctively knew that something was not right with her childhood friend.

"I'm sorry did you say someone was shooting at you?" the man who wore a black suit (minus the jacket as the day was already warming up) and had a chivalrous but serious air to him enquired.

Vimes turned to the man, Hotchner, wasn't it?

"Yes but he didn't mean it" Vimes replied honestly, "Hazelnut-Hazel_ton_ was a bit scared by what's been going on so when he heard me get out of my car he fired a few rounds in my direction. Wide shots though, never would've hit me" she added as an afterthought.

Hotch smiled at the slightly blasé attitude, the young lady was instantly likeable.

"So did he speak to you?" Jacobson asked Vimes.

She nodded "mmm-hmm. Once he calmed down".

Vimes took a breath and sat down at the table "he saw a white Ute, probably a Toyota on the stretch of road where the fourth victim was found about three weeks ago on Tuesday around sundown. The man looked like he was changing a tyre".

"Not too unusual" the woman Jacobson had said to be called Prentiss frowned.

"No, perfectly normal" Vimes said, "Hazelton pulled over and offered to help but the guy waved him off"

"Mr. Hazelton didn't recognise him?" Hotch asked, aware it was a small community.

"No" Vimes shook her head, "he was wearing an akubra, kneeling down and facing the Ute so he didn't get a good look. All he said was that he looked young".

"Hazelton's a bit of a recluse anyway" one of the Senior Sergeants named Ploughton interjected, he'd grown up in the town and knew most people, "it's unlikely he'd recognise someone who hasn't been living in the area or at least visiting the area regularly for many years"

"Why wouldn't the man accept the help that Hazelton offered?" Morgan mused, "it was getting dark, no cell phone reception. I wouldn't want to be stuck out there".

"It's not unusual" Vimes said with a shrug, "many people do go missing off the highways in Australia. Most of there own accord illegal workers and such. But there have been several high profile disappearances over the last few decades. People learn not to trust others on the road"

"Unless you're a tourist" Prentiss mused.

Vimes nodded "yeah a tourist might not stop to help someone, but if they were in strife and a friendly local offered a helping hand well…"

Everyone went silent thinking about the things that Vimes had not said.

"Was there anything else?" Hotch asked

"Hazelton can't remember whether this guy had a car jack or not" Vimes finished.

"He's old. His memory's not was it used to be" the other Senior Sergeant named Evans explained.

"Yes it bloody well is" Vimes muttered to herself, although her tone suggested it was unrelated to the case.

"So it's possible changing the tyre was just a ruse" Hotch continued.

"I'd say it's highly likely sir" Vimes replied, "Crime scene's only a few metres away. It would be very easy to dash back and forth from the Ute to the grave"

"And no one would think anything of a bloke dashing out of the bushes to his car" Ploughton added, "probably would think he was going to the loo".

"We'll need to look into that car" Hotch nodded.

"We won't get far with that, do you know how common Toyota Utes are? We don't know the year, the make and we don't have any tyre imprints the ground was too hard" Evans sighed, "it'll be like look for a needle in a haystack".

"Actually, it's more like looking for a needle in a pile of needles" Reid finally spoke.

"Right then" Jacobson said giving Reid a strange look, "Vimes did you make sure that Hazelnut-Hazel_ton_ – now you've got _me_ doing it!- is not going to fire rounds at anyone else?"

"I'll told him that the unsub would be unlikely to attack him because he was virtually the complete opposite of his victimology" Vimes replied.

"And he listened?" Jacobson said with a raised eyebrow.

"What to _me_? Sure he did" Vimes said dryly.

"Better get one of your boys to pay him a visit, make sure he's not too spooked" Jacobson said to Evans who nodded and left the room.

"Why wouldn't he listen to you?" Morgan asked with amusement.

"I used to come up here for summer holidays with the Jacobsons when I was a teenager" Vimes said waving her hand as to dismiss the issue, "there was some slight disagreements over trespassing on his property. Things were said, woolsheds were destroyed- what were you discussing before I came in?"

Everyone was suddenly very interested in the papers in front of them; Morgan seemed to be having a small coughing fit.

"The victims' belongings" Hotch replied, "I understand nothing has been found".

"Correct" Jacobson nodded, "the only things we found them all with was the clothes on their backs"

"We've searched the surround bushland and any rubbish tips in the area. Nothing" Ploughton said

"We've talked to Op Shops, Savlation Armies and any other second-hand stores or pawn shops" Vimes said with a nod, "I was hoping he'd get daring and try to sell one of his trophies for some more headline attention but he's holding onto it all very tightly".

"Do we have a list of belongings the victims would have had on them at the time?" Reid enquired

"We've been trying to generate one with the help of friends, family and those who last saw them" Jacobson nodded.

"Get that out into the press as soon as you can" Prentiss said, "someone may have seen someone wearing or carrying something that belonged to the victim. It's a long shot but it's something".

"Has he tried to contact the media at all?" Morgan enquired.

Vimes shook her head "but the media has been instructed to contact us first before they do anything else".

"We could try to bait him" Prentiss said, "tell the media that we've got a few leads and…I don't know J.J's better at handling the press stuff, wish she was here"

"Using the media" Reid interrupted hotly, "great idea, we can encourage him to kill a few more people. That's exactly what we need".

Those who weren't used to Reid's mood swings yet stared at him with surprise.

Vimes was the exception she frowned slightly as she eyed her old friend, a number of thoughts and theories ticking away in her mind.

"No. What we really need" she said slowly, breaking the silence "is to get lucky".

* * *


	7. Kindred Spirits

Reid sat outside under the cool shade of the veranda and sighed.

He kept thinking about the vial of liquid relief in his hotel room and he hated himself for it.

The side effects were becoming worse, probably because since Gideon had left he'd been using larger doses than he ever had before.

The mood swings were the nastiest of the symptoms.

He was up and down, half the time he didn't care about anything and the other half he was completely paranoid and eaten by guilt.

He only had to look at Prentiss to lose his temper.

The woman set him on edge, he didn't know why but the moment she opened her mouth a wave of anger would wash over him.

Maybe it was because she was new, it made her an easy target.

Maybe it was because she had replaced Elle, someone who would have understood what he had been going through.

Maybe he just didn't like her.

Regardless of the reason he'd have to learn to hold his tongue, for the team's sake.

Reid wiped the sweat from his brow, being from Las Vegas he was used to heat but it still made him uncomfortable.

The profiling session hadn't gone on for much longer after he'd snapped at Prentiss.

A knock on the door had alerted the team to the completion of the fourth victim's autopsy and the identification of the body.

He was a 23 year old Icelandic man who had been backpacking around Australia.

Hotch and Prentiss had gone to examine the body with Jacobson and speak to the person who had identified him.

Morgan was contacting the family and updating everyone back home, Vimes was probably with him.

When the session had ended Vimes had come up to him and offered her hand.

Reid had shaken it with a smile saying it was good to see her again.

Then she'd asked how he'd been, an innocent enough question but he could feel her eyes studying him.

He'd felt the anger boiling up inside him again and not wanting to attack her he'd muttered a very weak 'fine' and asked where the bathroom was.

Instead of going to the bathroom he had come outside to get some air and calm down.

Running his fingers through his hair he let out another frustrated sigh.

Reid had been looking so forward to seeing Vimes again.

But then he had seen her. She was strong-willed, funny and smart. No she was brilliant.

Part of him felt ashamed, he didn't want her to see the pathetic, weak man that he'd become.

Part of him felt jealous also, they had been kindred spirits when they were young. Why wasn't she suffering as well? Why did she have such a better life?

The shame resurfaced again, it was unjustified jealousy and it was the Dilaudid that was causing it, he knew that.

Never would he wish the things he had been through on another human being, especially not a friend.

* * *

"Hello?"

Reid turned, the voice was Vimes' but he couldn't see her.

"Yes I see".

Peering around the corner he could see Vimes leaning against the wall on her cell phone.

Vimes pinched her brow "what with this time?"

She listened to the voice on the other line, "well how did she get hold of those?"

An annoyed look passed over her face "and you let this go on?"

The look changed to one of bitterness, was this really the friendly self-confident girl from the conference room?

"Oh I beg to differ... Yes I _am_ telling you how to do your job. Lord knows you don't know how to"

The bitterness changed to one of hopeless desperation. Reid felt a pang of sympathy, so much of what he felt was written on her face.

"No…No…Yes that's fine".

Vimes snapped the phone shut, leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes "how long have you been loitering around that corner?"

Reid sheepishly made himself visible "Evie…are you okay?"

Vimes nodded, the look was gone, the girl from before was back "family troubles, nothing more".

"I'm sorry about before" Reid apologised, "I'm very tired".

Vimes nodded vaguely.

'Well what can I say to her?' Reid thought, 'I'm sorry I'm on edge because I got kidnapped, tortured and drugged, then my mentor walked out on me. Oh and by the way I'm a junkie?' He shuffled awkwardly.

Vimes looked Reid up and down with a gentle smile "look at you all grown-up. Mr FBI Agent".

Reid returned the smile "Doctor of Forensic Psychology, very impressive"

"Not as impressive as three PhDs" Vimes replied, "Agent Morgan is very proud of you" she added explaining how she knew that little piece of trivia.

"Well" Reid said feigning arrogance, "while I don't believe that intelligence can be accurately quantified, I do have an IQ score of 187 compared to your lowly score of 168"

"Spencer Reid are you trying to make a joke?" Vimes said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes…was it funny?" he asked innocently.

"A little" Vimes smiled.

The two stood regarding each other with amusement, things seemed to have clicked back in place and the seventeen years that had passed between their friendship and now had melted away.

"I need some coffee" Vimes said, "There's a café across the road. Are you interested?"

"It's very hot" Reid frowned.

"Ah yes but there's this wonderful invention, it's called _iced_ coffee" Vimes said already walking away, a cheeky grin on her face.

Reid returned the grin and fell in step beside her "so…destruction of a woolshed?"

* * *


	8. Tensions

_Hey there everyone!_

_Sorry about the lateness of the update. My cousin's been very cross with me note updating but I've been so busy with uni, what can you do eh?_

_Thanks everyone who've added my story to their favourites I feel very special :-) _

_Hope06__: I know! I'm worried about Reid too! I just won't be able to wait for the third season to come on TV here I'll have to get my hot little hands on it a.s.a.p like I did with season two._

_LestatHughLover__: Ahh someone who is as twisted as me, love you :-)__ More angsty Reid coming your way, he's gonna get worse before he gets better you know_

* * *

Hotch looked at the body of Jónas Oddsson that lay on the cold metal table in front of him.

A young adult male showing signs of early decomposition.

Unlike the other victims there were several stab wounds to the chest.

'Practice' Hotch thought tersely, 'once he found the right spot he didn't forget it'.

The throat was slit deeply from ear to ear, Hotch's eyes drifted above it to the face but quickly flicked back to the wounds.

At the age of 24 the victim was considered a man, but his face was young and boyish.

Like Reid.

Images of his youngest agent crouched beside what had been his intended grave flashed across his mind.

Turning on his heel Hotch quickly strode from the morgue into the room where Prentiss and Jacobson sat with a distressed young man named Gunnar.

"So you and Jónas came here together?" Prentiss was asking the young man.

"Yes" Gunnar replied, his accent was thick but his English was very good "to travel. We were making our way up to Cairns. But…I meet a girl in Melbourne and I stay with her. Jónas was going to Sydney. I was to meet him again in the Gold Coast".

"When did you last see Jónas?" Jacobson enquired.

Gunnar thought for a moment "it has been six weeks. When I did not hear from him-" he let out a choked sob, "I thought it was because he was angry with me. Then I saw this on television and I feared he had been harmed".

"Do you have a photograph of him?" Prentiss asked, "something we can give to the press? It may help, someone may have seen him".

Gunnar nodded and took a photograph out of his shirt pocket, he had been prepared for this.

"Can you tell me what Jónas was like?" Hotch asked, "was he a very trusting individual?"

"Yes but he was no fool" Gunnar replied, "he was careful of people he just met"

"Was Jónas hitchhiking up to Sydney" Prentiss asked.

Gunnar shook his head "He was traveling by train. He…he thought it was the safest choice".

* * *

Jacobson's car sped along the road, just looking out at the dry yellowed surroundings made Prentiss feel hot.

They were on their way to the site of the double grave.

Sitting in the backseat of the car she was dimly aware that Hotch and Jacobson had moved on from talking about the case to talking about children.

It turned out that Jacobson had five boys and was gleefully telling Hotch what he was in for with Jack.

But Prentiss sat in silence, alone with her thoughts.

Thoughts which always drifted back to the impossible situation she was in.

"_It's time for __Agent Hotchner's career to come to an end. And if you want to stay in the BAU, Agent Prentiss, you're going to help me make that happen"._

Oh hell. What was she going to do?

Stab her superior in the back or lose her job.

Neither decision was appealing.

"_Your team is in trouble._ _They've lost sight of the big picture. I believe they are reckless and at times out of control"_

Well that was true in parts.

The team _was_ in trouble.

Since Gideon had gone the BAU had felt like purgatory, everyone seemed to be caught somewhere.

Surely that feeling wouldn't last would it?

They would all adjust wouldn't they?

It was human nature to adjust in a constantly changing world.

People come and go all the time, you learn to live without them.

If you couldn't adjust, then you didn't survive.

"_Reckless and at times out of control…"_

Well Prentiss knew _one _person that this definitely applied to.

What Reid's problem was and why he couldn't deal with it she could not understand.

She also couldn't understand what the specific problem he had with her.

Maybe on some subconscious level _he knew_. He saw her for what she was.

'Don't be stupid' she told herself, 'he's a genius not a psychic'.

Why couldn't he get over it? Why couldn't he adjust?

'He shouldn't be here if he can't do that' Prentiss thought, 'he won't survive. _He _should be in the line of fire, not Hotch."

"_It's time to pay back the faith I had"._

She felt so torn.

Hotch had faith in her too, perhaps not as much as he had in Gideon or Morgan but he did trust her.

She had loyalty to Hotch she really did.

But…it was a question of survival wasn't it?

Oh hell. What was she going to do?

* * *

"I'm very sorry for your loss."

Morgan hung up the phone and took a deep breath, he'd known the parents of the boy would be devastated but the pain in their voices was still hard to hear.

How did J.J ever handle talking to people like this?

Picking up the phone again his dialled another overseas number.

"Supreme Goddess of the Information Super Highway"

"Oh baby you know what that kind of talk does to a man" Morgan grinned trying to ignore the puzzled look a constable was giving him.

"Hey sweetness, how's the land down under treating you?" Gracia replied in her usual flirtatious tone.

"Another body was found yesterday morning"

"Oh".

"Yeah I've got some of the information here, we'll send you over the rest of it once Prentiss and Hotch get back from the coroner's office" Morgan said, "just thought I'd give you a heads up in case J.J wants to prepare something for the press over there".

"She's got her hands full, Strauss has been poking around again" Garcia grumbled, "demanding we hire someone new or close up shop".

Morgan snorted, what did that woman have against the team?

"He came in today" Garcia said quietly as somebody out in the main foyer of the police station was screaming up a storm about a robbery.

"What? I can't hear you" Morgan said

"Gideon" Garcia said a little louder, "he came in to get the rest of his things"

Morgan's silence almost drowned out the hysterical woman in the foyer.

"He wanted to know how our baby boy's doing" Garcia finally said.

"He's fine" Morgan's reply was perhaps a little too blunt.

"Really?"

"Yeah he's got a friend here he used to know when he was a kid" Morgan tried to sound more convincing.

"A friend? In the middle of the Australian bush?" Garcia asked sounding sceptical.

"Yeah I know, long story" Morgan said with a laugh

"Gideon knows something that we don't" Garcia confessed, "but J.J and I couldn't convince him to tell us".

"Well we'll just have to hope that Reid will tell us in his own time" Morgan hoped that his own frustration wasn't showing in his voice.

He had his suspicions about what was going on with Reid, everybody did.

Even Dr. Vimes did.

She had followed Morgan to the phone asking casually how Reid had gotten into the B.A.U, explaining that she was planning to look for a job in the U.S.

"No offence but there seems to be a lot more work over there" she had said with a coy smile, "it must be hard though. Does it ever get to you?"

"Sometimes" Morgan had replied.

"What about Dr. Reid?" ah there it was.

"Some people have it rougher than others".

Vimes had been about to ask something else when her phone began to ring, she quickly excused herself to answer the call.

Morgan frowned thinking about how all the pink in the girl's cheeks had drained away when she saw the caller I.D, 'everybody's got problems' he thought.

"Morgan?"

"Yeah I'm still here" Morgan replied.

"Let me know as soon as you find anything out okay" Garcia said.

"We'll send you everything we know as soon as Hotch and Prentiss get back".

"That's not what I-"

"I know" he said softly, "I'll let you know. Talk to you later gorgeous girl".

Morgan hung up the phone as his cell buzzed in his pocket, Hotch wanted he and Reid to examine the site where the third victim was found.

He walked into the foyer where the commotion was still going on.

An old woman was busy yelling at a weary looking Senior Sergeant Evans.

"My jewellery! Do you know how old some of it is? Do you know how much it is worth?!"

"No Mrs. Leeds I'm sorry I don't" Evans sighed, "we will look into this I assure you. Now please, I'm sure Constables Hunter and Kennedy here will be happy to escort you home and examine the crime scene".

"Some mongrels robbed her house when she was out shopping this morning" Evans explained to Morgan as the two young constables lead the old woman away.

Morgan nodded sympathetically. He looked around wondering why Reid hadn't come to see the commotion.

As if reading his mind the Senior Constable sitting at the desk looked up at him and smiled.

"If you're looking for that young fella, he's across the road with the little Miss"

* * *

"12 years old! I can just imagine the look on people's faces when you first walked into the lecture theatre" Vimes said with a smile.

"Actually the first few classes I attended I believe that most people assumed I was the lecturer's child" Reid replied, "That is until I started taking notes".

Vimes laughed and shook her head, "and I thought graduating at 15 was bad. All the other senior school students used to baby me".

"I used to get beaten up every day" Reid replied.

"Well I had the Jacobson boys on my side so bullies would never touch me" Vimes shrugged.

"The Detective Inspector?"

"Yep, the twins were in my year level" Vimes nodded, "the cheeky buggers always tried to get me to do their homework for them. Even when I was doing my doctorate one wanted me to sit his police exams for him".

Reid laughed "and I thought I had my hands full doing three PhDs"

Vimes smiled at Reid, "you've accomplished so much".

"It's all been working towards this" Reid replied casually stirring his iced coffee with his, "this job".

"You should be proud" Vimes said, "to understand another human being, it is not as easy a skill as people think".

"Yeah" Reid muttered.

"Especially to understand the thoughts of someone who does not think as human beings should" Vimes continued.

Reid was silent.

The sounds of friends and family gossiping over coffee all blended together seemed to echo around the two young doctors.

"It gets inside you doesn't it?" Vimes said quietly

"Hmm?" Reid frowned.

"Profiling, it becomes everything. It shapes how you think about humanity" Vimes explained, "everything you see, the things that go on in people's minds it's just-"

"Insane?" Reid enquired.

"Completely mental" Vimes nodded, "the worst job I've ever had"

"And the best" they said in unison and laughed.

"Could you ever walk away?" Reid propped his chin up on his hand.

"No" Vimes replied flatly, "could you?"

"No".

"Even if it's killing you?"

"It's not killing me" Reid voice had suddenly become frosty.

"Something is" Vimes said softly, "Spence I know-"

"Don't."

"I know you must think that I can't understand-"

"It's nothing".

"Spencer I can help" Vimes said placing her hand on Reid's.

Reid pulled his hand away and gave her a pleading look, "Don't. Evie, please".

Vimes raised hers hands in surrender and turned her attention back to her coffee.

Reid groaned inwardly. Vimes was stubborn when they had been kids and it was clear that this hadn't changed.

She wouldn't let it go for very long.

Still, he was hoping that she wouldn't probe too deeply.

The fact that she had not once brought up the subject of family had not escaped Reid's attention.

Vimes had secrets that she wanted to keep too.

"Remember in the math class for that program you kept correcting the teacher?" Vimes said to Reid with a smile, "he got so mad and just stormed out of the classroom. You ended up taking his place".

"At least I didn't kick the literature professor out of the classroom" Reid returned the smile.

"Hey" Vimes said defensively, "he was butchering The Canterbury Tales".

"Is it still your favourite?" Reid asked

"Yeah of course" Vimes nodded, "but I've read so much poetry now that I probably could have done another PhD in Literature".

She smiled "I blame your Mum, sending you there with about twenty different books full of prose. It started a lifetime love affair".

"There were ten books and you tried to take four of them home with you" Reid said with amusement.

"Well it's not like you needed them after you read them Spencer" she teased, "you really ought to be more charitable to those without an eidetic memory".

Reid laughed half-heartedly.

"We thought we knew it all back then didn't we?" Vimes said almost sadly, "but we didn't have a clue"

"Don't try to use nostalgia and empathy on me" Reid growled, "I don't appreciate underhanded psychological tricks, especially from you".

"Please let me help you Spence".

"Stop it" his face darkened.

"I know I'm pushing" Vimes said desperately, "but I can tell that something is really wrong, and I've barely even seen you for five minutes. I can at least tell that your us-".

"-How's your family Evangeline?" Reid said coldly, "how are Mom and Dad?"

Vimes looked wounded "shut up".

"That phone call" Reid sneered, "I don't where your Mom is but I'm guessing that she tried to kill herself this morning, am I right? Why don't you deal with your own problems before you try to solve mine?"

There was a sharp crack followed by a deafening silence as all the people in the café stopped and stared.

Calmly Vimes stood up and walked out the door.

Reid gingerly raised a hand to his cheek. It stung where Vimes had slapped him.

Shamefaced, he rose and followed after her.

In the corner of the café a man watched the scene intently and smiled secretly between sips of his coffee.

* * *

_Hope that was okay, I made the chapter a bit longer to make up for the delay. I'll add more soon. By the way I type faster when people say nice things heehee._


	9. Uncertain Times

_Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter, the longest chapter yet! _

_Hope06__: Glad you liked it, Gideon I know right? I'm kinda annoyed with Mandy so I'm taking it out a little on Gideon, nasty I know. I've ended this one on a sorta cliffie too by the way. Don't worry, Reid's progress is planned out in my little noggin, he'll get there. Glad you like being mentioned at the start too, anyone who is as nice as you to review deserves a mention :-D_

_LestatHughLover__: Lol I knew you'd like the slap. Not too much Reid-torture in this chapter though, sorry. I thought I'd bring out Vimes' secret instead. Yay I'm glad you'll review after each chapter, makes me feel so loved :-D_

* * *

"Sarge, what on earth is that?"

Detective Inspector Jacobson froze in mid bite "it's a meat pie".

"Don't eat that" Vimes shook her head, "do you know what that's got in it? Grizzle and fat, plus there's probably all sorts of bacteria growing in it".

Hotch and Morgan chuckled in amusement while Prentiss pushed away what had been her intended lunch.

Jacobson took a defiant bite.

"I'm telling Pam" Vimes folded her arms.

"Tell her what you like" Jacobson replied, "my wife doesn't cook my meals when I'm on duty".

The BAU plus Vimes and Jacobson were at a rest stop a little out of Wodonga, it had been the meeting point the team had decided to regroup at after driving out and inspecting the various crime scenes.

Jacobson had stopped in Wodonga with Hotch and Prentiss to bring lunch for the rest of the group, although Vimes who now sat crossed legged on top of one picnic table was making it difficult to eat.

"I know a guy who found a dead rat in one of those pies once" Vimes continued.

"Isn't that an urban legend?" said Reid who sat at the other end of the table, "that myth has been circulating for years".

"Hey you hear that Sarge?" Vimes grinned, "Steve's a myth".

"Well what do you know, I have a mythological son" Jacobson replied, "shut up and eat your chips".

Vimes laughed.

Hotch sat down near Jacobson, "Detective Inspector, Dr. Vimes. I appreciate both of you taking us out to the crime scenes. It's helped us gain some perspective. I know its ground you've already covered and I'd hate for you to think that we didn't believe the work you've done so far isn't adequate".

"I'm glad you're here" Vimes replied, "these coppers never take my work seriously ("Oi!" Jacobson interrupted), now they're actually listening to me".

"I've always listened to you" Jacobson said, "just because I don't understand the big words you use, doesn't mean that I don't listen".

The members of the group laughed, especially Morgan.

He was relived to finally have gotten out of Vimes' car.

The tension between Vimes and Reid had been stifling.

Morgan had run into the girl as he had stepped out the entrance of the police station.

She had looked visibly upset and Morgan knew that must have been in the path of another of Reid's mood swings.

They were becoming increasingly common.

Reid followed shortly after Vimes.

Morgan had noted his bewildered expression and suspiciously red cheek.

"Flowers" Morgan had said.

"What?" Reid looked at Morgan confused.

"If you do something that gets you slapped by a woman…" Morgan said eyeing his reddened cheek, "…you'd better buy her flowers because whatever you did was bad"

"I've never been slapped by a girl before" Reid murmured.

"No because you're a good guy Reid" Morgan said, "then again lately you haven't really been yourself"

Reid had shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground.

"You're not the only one Gideon walked out on you know"

Reid glared at Morgan and remained silent.

"Was Gideon helping you through some things?" Morgan asked.

Reid folded his arms and said nothing.

"Reid come on man, you can talk to me".

But he hadn't talked.

He barely spoke a word in the car unless it was about the case.

At the crime scene he only rattled off a few statistics about serial killers and their methods of body disposal.

To her credit however, Vimes was pleasant, even fun to talk to in the car despite the obvious fact that she and Reid weren't really speaking to one another.

Morgan was beginning to realise that the Doctor was very good at hiding her worries.

Had he not caught glimpses of her when she thought no one was looking he probably never would have guessed that anything was bothering her.

The calm mood at the rest stop was shattered by the arrival of a white Ute.

When a woman, her young son and their dog all hopped out, everybody visibly relaxed.

"How many people stop at these rest stops every day?" Morgan asked.

He had good reason to ask, all the victims aside from Jónas Oddsson had been found a short distance from rest stops along the Hume.

"Too many to say" Jacobson replied, "this is a major interstate highway".

"I stopped all along here on the way up to Albury for schoolies" Vimes remarked casually.

"You didn't go to schoolies" Jacobson said slowly, "you were too young when you graduated. I seem to recall you went to visit Granny Rosa".

"Course I did" Vimes said quickly, "silly me. You know what I think that's a really nice looking dog. I think I'll go ask that lady what the breed is".

Jacobson shook his head as Vimes bounded off "as if I didn't know that she snuck off to schoolies with my twin boys. You should've heard that poor old woman trying to cover for her".

"You seem pretty close" Prentiss remarked.

"She's been living under my roof since she was 13" Jacobson replied, "my wife and I are her foster parents".

Reid looked up in alarm. He had guessed things weren't right with her parents but a foster home?

"That's an admirable thing to do" Morgan remarked, "to take a child into you home".

"Oh we love having her around. Pam always wanted a girl and she got stuck with five scallywag boys" Jacobson smiled, "she's far better behaved than- Evie! Don't feed that dog your lunch please!".

* * *

When they had returned to the station more work had been put into profiling the unsub.

In the late afternoon Jacobson asked the team to address the police with their profile.

Hotch informed him that at this stage it was only a tentative profile but Jacobson replied that Evans and Ploughton were asking for something to work with now.

Senior Sergeant Evans filed all the officers together in the conference room.

The team and Vimes sat around the table with the exception of Hotch who was standing at the front of the room.

Hotch cleared his throat and began.

Thanks to Hazelton's description and the statistics they knew he was a white male in his twenties or thirties.

They knew he needed to, as most serial killers did, sadistically dominate his victims. The way he killed his victims showed them that.

Given that autopsies showed that there was little or no drug or alcohol in any of the victims' stomach content they knew he was intelligent and charming enough to be able to lead young males and females away from safety.

He was probably working a good, professional job that made him look reliable and trustworthy.

It was possible he was relatively new to the area, given that he never seemed to go off the beaten track with his victims.

"Dr. Vimes" Hotch turned his attention to the girl, "can you please give your clinical opinion?"

Vimes had already recounted her diagnosis to the BAU earlier in the day, but she stood and looked at the sea of faces.

"Without being able to meet the man I can't give a concrete diagnosis but at this stage I believe that this man at the very least suffers from a Narcissistic Personality Disorder".

Many of the police looked at her with confusion "he has an extreme focus on himself" Vimes added.

She counted off the criteria on her fingers "the method of killing shows he lacks empathy, the need to be in media shows he requires excessive admiration. Killing people is not only taking advantage of others to achieve his own ends but helps him fulfill his fantasies of unlimited success and power. Burying the body isn't an act of remorse, to him just dumping a body is crass and he thinks he is above that because of his grandiose sense of self-importance. Burying the victim is part of his art".

"It is likely that he believes that he's 'special' and unique" Reid added.

"And he believes that he can only be understood by other 'special' people" Morgan continued.

"Is that why he hasn't contacted press or police?" Evans has asked, "because he thinks we won't understand".

"It's possible" Prentiss nodded, "he may seek out admiration from fellow serial killers instead".

"So we'll watch the mail getting sent to prisons that hold any serial killers" Evans nodded.

"Can we tell the press to stop printing stories about him?" Hotch asked Jacobson, "if the unsub isn't getting recognition he wants he'll be angry, he'll make mistakes".

"I'll call the Commissioner and see what I can do" Jacobson said.

"In the mean time everybody" Hotch had addressed the room, "be alert and watch everything up and down this stretch of highway. There _will_ be another victim at the very least before we catch him; he's still one step ahead"

* * *

The sun had set and an eerie hush had fallen over the town. People were afraid.

Agent Hotchner's footsteps echoed on the linoleum of the Police Station floor.

The station was virtually empty except for the Senior Constable at the front desk, and a few other skeleton staff.

Most officers were out patrolling in plain clothes and unmarked cars.

His own team had gone their separate ways for the night, Prentiss and Morgan had gone out for dinner while Reid as irritable as ever just headed back to the motel.

Hotch sighed thinking of the young agent's furious glare when he had insisted a police officer drive him back to the hotel.

He had tried to explain that it was only because there was a serial killer targeting young foreigners but all Reid seemed to hear was that Hotch didn't trust him.

The worry he felt about his agent was gnawing away at him.

Morgan had pulled Hotch aside during the day and informed him of Gideon's visit to the BAU.

That had sent alarm bells ringing in Hotch's mind

He knew Gideon was a private person and he respected the privacy of others also, which was why he hadn't told J.J or Garcia what was wrong.

But he had alluded to something being wrong with Reid. That surely meant that it was something vitally wrong.

Now Hotch was searching the empty Police Station for the person that he knew would be able to help.

Hotch stopped and listened for a moment, he could hear a hushed tune that sounded like it was coming from a pair of headphones.

Pushing the door of the tea room open Hotch saw Evie Vimes leaning back in a chair with her eyes closed, listening to her iPod.

"Dr. Vimes" Hotch said placing his hand on her shoulder.

Vimes gave a startled gasp and yanked the earpieces out "Agent Hotchner! What are you still doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question" Hotch said sitting down.

Vimes shrugged "better coffee here than my hotel room".

Hotch nodded, he couldn't stand instant coffee either.

"So why are you still here?" Vimes asked, "I doubt it's for the coffee".

"I needed to speak with you" Hotch replied.

"About my diagnosis?" Vimes asked, "I know that most people with a PD have several personality disorders-"

Hotch held up his hand to silence her "I need to talk to you about Dr. Reid".

Vimes nodded slowly "ah".

"You can tell something is wrong?"

"You don't need to be a psychologist to see that he's not well" Vimes replied, "can I ask what happened?"

"He had a very bad experience a few months ago. Something which I know he wouldn't appreciate me discussing" Hotch explained, "he hasn't been himself since then".

Evie nodded and Hotch continued.

"Recently a member of my team left the BAU he was in many ways a father figure for Reid" Hotch shook his head despairingly, "with him gone Reid seems to steadily be getting worse. In all honesty I just don't know what to do".

Hotch hated to admit that he felt helpless, but it was the truth.

Vimes pinched her brow "are you looking for answers Agent Hotchner?"

"Do you have any?" Hotch enquired.

Vimes was silent for some time "no".

"Not that you want to tell me anyway" Hotch pointed out.

"Spencer's still my friend" Vimes said, "even if he's not himself right now I've still got some loyalty to him".

Hotch sighed "that may do him more harm than good. I suppose you must think that his career is at stake. Perhaps it is" he admitted

Vimes bit her lip "Agent Hotchner, I _will_ help him through this, and I know you will as well. Please just trust me to be discrete for the moment".

"How can you be sure he'll let you help him?" Hotch asked.

"I don't" she replied quietly, "I just hope".

* * *

Spencer Reid lay on his bed, a small relaxed smile on his face and a used needle on the bedside table beside him.

Today had been a struggle.

The fight with Evie, the long car ride, visiting the sites where people had lain helpless in the grass while their graves where dug…

He had been so desperate for the drug that it had made him feel dirty.

Finally when he had got back to his room (and had slammed the door in his police escort's face) he practically had dived for the little kit in his suitcase.

As the numbness settled in, he drifted of into a dreamy drugged stupor...

..."_Were your Mum and Dad angry about your wrist?"_

_Reid looked at the girl who sat cross-legged on the end of his bed in the infirmary._

"_Dad said that it was about time I started acting like a kid" he replied, "Mom was upset"._

"_She seemed confused" Vimes observed._

"_Sometimes she's not well" Reid replied._

"_Why? What's wrong with her?" Vimes asked innocently._

"_She has Paranoid Schizophrenia" Reid said with all the honesty of a young child._

"_Oh that's sad" Vimes said sympathetically, "what's Paranoid Schizophrenia?"_

_Reid explained the illness to her._

"_Maybe one day we'll be able to make her better" Vimes said brightly, "we're smart I bet we can"._

_Reid smiled "Really? Together?"_

"_Of course silly! We're friends aren't we?"_

"_Yeah, we are friends"..._

Reid sat up and looked around groggily.

He swore he could've heard something.

Then it came again, a thudding sound.

In his medicated state it took Reid a little while to process that it was actually somebody knocking at the door.

Hurriedly putting his little kit back into his suitcase he opened the door and stared blearily at the knocker "yes?"

Geoff the hotel manager gave him a warm smile "phone message for you mate" he said handing Reid a slip of paper which Reid shoved in his pocket.

He turned to leave but stopped and looked back at Reid "you look like death warmed up. In need of a good meal I'll bet. My old lady's making dinner right now. Did you want to join us?"

"Uh" Reid felt his stomach growl, "sure".

Usually the effect of the drugs made him nauseous but the food Geoff's wife Judy, had cooked smelt so good that he eagerly devoured the plate put before him.

Geoff and Judy were very talkative.

These days such a quality would have annoyed Reid but he was still somewhat sedated he was happy to chat.

The couple were very interested in what the BAU did. It wasn't often that people like Reid came their way.

"So you think you're gonna catch this guy?" Geoff asked the young agent.

"I hope so" Reid replied, "my team is very good, and Dr. Vimes is a brilliant forensic psychologist".

"To think that she was the little hell-raiser who knocked down Hazelton's woolshed and dyed his sheep pink" Geoff laughed, "now she's the one catching criminals".

"Dyed his sheep pink?" Reid giggled.

"Oh that wasn't her that was Arthur Jacobson" Judy shook her head, "besides she had a lot to deal with back then. That poor, poor girl".

Geoff nodded sympathetically "yeah I'm surprised it didn't mess her head up".

"What happened?" Reid asked.

"Oh you mean you don't know? I heard it from Pam Jacobson years ago" Geoff's wife clearly loved to gossip.

Judy motioned for Reid to come closer as though she thought someone might be listening "her mother was having an affair with a crook and they _killed_ her father!"

Geoff nodded gravely "for the life insurance I hear".

Reid's eyes widened in disbelief.

"There was a struggle and both men got killed but the wife got caught" Judy continued, "Evie gave evidence. She put her mother away for twenty-five years".

* * *

_Somewhere out in the darknes _he_ drove along the Hume and sang along to the song that played._

_"Hey girl it's a new world let's have a little fun. Don't stay hidden away come and join everyone…"_

_He was in high spirits tonight. Maybe it was the excitement of having the police and FBI crawling all over the area._

_He pulled into a rest stop and stepped out of the vehicle._

_Still singing to himself, he opened the back of the van – did they think he'd be stupid enough to stick with the Ute?- and pulled out a shovel which lay on top of something bulky wrapped in plastic._

_He listened joyfully as the sound of soil crunched under the shovel._

_"…didn't you know any wrong you have done, cannot deny you the right to a place in the sun"_

* * *

_There's Evie's secret out in the open, I wanted to get it out there because I want to focus more on Reid's problems than Evie's._

_The song at the end there is 'A Place in the Sun' by the Hoodoo Gurus, disclaimer wise I don't own it but my Dad does have it on CD. Cheers!_


	10. A Rock and a Hard Place

_Hello all! You probably won't here from me for about a week maybe a little longer. Reports are looming oh no!_

_LestatHughLover:__ Glad you can't decide about Evie yet, although how people respond to her may affect later chapters nods her future's not set in ston that's for sure. shifty look yes I suspect everybody. Also I suspect your sadistic side may enjoy the end of this chapter mwah ha ha ha! _

_Ryuzaki: __Thank ya muchly. I am enjoying writing this story. Especially when I should be working :-)  
__tearbos:__ I hope Evie can help him too. I wish I could help him! Mmm pictures hugging Reid yeah that would be nice _

_Hope06:__ Oh I'll settle for hugging you! hugs Hope06 you say such nice things jumps for joy. Oh aren't they such a family, Hotch really steps up to the plate as a father figure doesn't he? Yep Evie's a tough cookie, poor ittle ting (why do I like to make people suffer?)_

_blackpanther2288:__ Hey :-) glad you like. Yep Reid's being a teensy bit of a jerk, drugs'll do that to ya (that's a message for you kiddies). I'm glad you like how I write Hotch, I'm actually enjoying writing him the most I think._

_Anyways here's the next chapter. It's a little shorter than the last one but I hope the dramatic flair will make up for it._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Agents Derek Morgan and Emily Prentiss walked down the main street of Eurora.

It wasn't as busy as it should have been on a weekend, people weren't venturing out anymore.

"So what do you feel like?" Morgan asked.

"Anything so long as it's not a meat pie" Prentiss replied.

Morgan chuckled "yeah I hear you".

Prentiss fanned her face with her hand "I thought it would've cooled down once the sun set".

"Hot balmy nights" Morgan grinned, "my kind of thing".

"Yeah when there are beaches and coconut drinks involved" Prentiss laughed, "here. This place looks okay".

Once they had sat down and ordered Morgan looked Prentiss up and down.

"You okay Prentiss?" Morgan asked, "you seem tense".

"Well there is a serial killer on the loose" Prentiss said with a weak smile but Morgan didn't buy it.

"Never bothered you before".

"I'm just… still a little freaked out by Gideon leaving" Prentiss said hoping Morgan would believe that, "it feels strange working a case without him".

Morgan had a tinge of anger in his voice "yeah well, it was his choice wasn't it?"

"You're still mad at him for leaving?"

"Aren't you?" Morgan asked.

Prentiss shrugged "I guess so".

"It's just something Garcia told me" Morgan explained, "Gideon knew something was going on with Reid and he just abandoned him. No one else can get through to Reid, Gideon was the only one who really understood him and he just… walked out".

"Mmmm" Prentiss nodded, she didn't really want to talk about Reid, "I guess he thought that Reid's a big boy now, let him deal with his own problems".

"Maybe" Morgan nodded, "so what's really bothering you?"

"Nothing".

"Uh-huh" Morgan looked sceptical.

Prentiss sighed "ever been caught between a rock and a hard place?"

Morgan looked at her curiously "what's going on?"

"I really don't want to talk about it Morgan" Prentiss shook her head with a smile, "I can deal with my own problems. You don't have to worry about me".

"Fine then shut me out" Morgan shrugged, "I'm getting used to it by now" he added to himself.

Morgan stretched out in his chair "should we get some take-out for Hotch and Reid?"

"Hey if they wanted food, they should have come with us" Prentiss laughed.

* * *

Reid sat on his bed and stared at the slip of paper in front of him. There were five words written on it.

_Evie called. Please call back._

His hand moved cautiously to his phone and pulled back.

Reid took a deep breath and moved his hand again only to repeat the action.

'She left her name as Evie because it's friendly and informal. It shows that she's not upset with me' Reid thought, 'she doesn't want an apology. But she deserves one'.

Reid chewed the tips of his fingernails.

He felt conflicted about speaking to his old friend.

He stood up and began pacing the room.

Part of him wanted to run to her and make sure she was alright.

Reid knew that the events he had just learnt of transpired many years ago but he felt as if it had all just happened and Evie needed to be looked after.

He tried to tell himself that she was fine, she was probably watching television or reading in her hotel room.

Still he should call her, if only to apologise.

'Maybe I should apologise in person' Reid thought as he headed to the door.

His stomach churned at the idea of facing her.

What could he say?

Would she be angry that he had found out her secret?

What if she started asking questions?

What if he had to tell her about Gideon?

What if he had to tell her about Tobias?

His head swirled with all these thoughts and it made him feel dizzy.

Reid stopped with his hand on the door handle and turned his head back towards his suitcase.

Maybe just to settle his nerves…

* * *

Evie Vimes was balled up on the couch of her hotel room.

She hadn't given herself time to process the phone call she had received in the morning.

Now that she was alone she could deal with it.

It annoyed her more than anything else, her mother tried something like this every couple of months.

It was an attention-seeking act.

One that was never rewarded.

Vimes tolerated the weekly phone call but she never visited her mother.

The fact that she only felt irritated by the suicide attempts made her feel so guilty.

'Think of something else or you'll end up crying in the shower again'.

Rolling onto her back, Vimes stretched herself out and stared at the ceiling.

Spencer Reid.

She'd promised Agent Hotchner that she would do her best to help him.

But it was more than that. She could see that Reid was a good person and she didn't want to see him crash and burn.

As soon as she'd returned to the hotel room Vimes had called Reid's phone but there was no answer.

Instead she'd left a message with the hotel manager for Reid to get in touch with her.

Vimes sighed, she had a pretty good idea as to why he hadn't answered and it had nothing to do with avoiding her.

'Shouldn't have slapped him' Vimes told herself, 'it was an overreaction and now you've just pushed him away'.

Oh well, hopefully bridges could be rebuilt.

A knock sounded at the door.

Vimes swung her legs off the couch and jumped up.

She opened the door "what brings you to my humble hotel room?"

"Why didn't you mention that your mother had tried it again?" Jacobson said pushing his way past Evie into the room.

"You know I'd appreciate it if you didn't go behind my back" Vimes shook her head.

Jacobson knew many people, it didn't take him long to find these things out.

"I've said this time and time again to you" Jacobson frowned, "move on with your life".

"I have" Vimes said with pursed lips.

"She calls you every week" Jacobson pointed out, "and I've watched those phone calls slowly kill you for 12 years. You don't deserve to suffer any more than you already have"

"She doesn't have anybody else" Vimes said quietly.

"That's her own doing" Jacobson said tersely.

"If I tell her that I don't want her calling me…" Vimes sighed, "she might try a little harder to end it next time".

"You're not responsible for her Evangeline" Jacobson looked weary, "but you act as if you are and it's stopped you from living".

"No it hasn't" Vimes lied, she did feel as if she was in purgatory.

"You've always wanted to work in America" Jacobson urged, "talk to Agent Hotchner or you're friend Dr. Reid. I'm sure they'll be able to tell you about endless possibilities".

"I can't leave" Vimes said desperately, "I can't turn my back on somebody. No matter what they have done".

"It's okay to do the selfish thing once in a while" Jacobson told her, "you've got a bright future if you'll only just free yourself".

"I'll think about it" Vimes muttered grabbing her car keys.

"Now where're you going?" Jacobson asked.

"Like I said" Vimes replied ushering him out of her hotel room, "I can't turn my back on someone".

* * *

Hotch listened to the sound of the phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hi" Hotch smiled at the voice, he always missed hearing it when he was away on a case.

"Ah good morning" Haley Hotchner said warmly.

"Depending on your point of view" Hotch laughed, "I'm just about to turn in for the night"

"So how's the case going?" Haley enquired.

"Well we haven't caught him yet"

"You will" Haley said with certainty, "you always do".

"How's Jack doing?" Hotch asked.

"Oh great" Haley said sounding exasperated, "for breakfast he decided it was more fun to throw his food on the floor than to eat it".

Hotch laughed "I told him to keep Mommy busy while I was away".

"He's not disappointing you" Haley replied.

"Then tell him I'm very proud" Hotch said.

"Hold on" Haley said, there was a sound of rustling and moving around then…"there we go. Say 'hi' to Daddy, Jack"

Hotch smiled as he listened to his baby son gurgle over the line half a world away.

* * *

Spencer Reid opened his hotel door and beamed "hi Evie".

"Hi" Vimes replied tentatively, "did you get my message?"

"Yeah" Reid replied, "I was gonna call- no…no I was gonna visit you but-"

"You were busy" Vimes enquired as she sat down in a chair.

Reid's cheeks flushed "I was looking over the case file-"

"Spence stop it" Vimes interrupted gently, "I can see that you're high".

Reid sank down in the chair next to hers "how could you tell?"

"I grew up in Collingwood. I saw people overdose on heroin every other day up and down Smith Street" Vimes laughed dryly, "that's why I like coming up to the country".

"I'm not using heroin" Reid told her.

"Methadone?"

"No. Dilaudid".

Vimes winced "oh bugger".

She pinched her brow and nodded, "okay. Do you want to stop?"

"I don't know" Reid shook his head, "I don't think I can".

"Why not?" Vimes asked "and don't you dare say it's because you need it".

"But I do!" Reid protested, "I tried to stop. I did stop. Then I started again".

"Because the FBI guy left right?"

Reid eyed her suspiciously "who told you about Gideon?"

"Agent Hotchner did" Vimes replied, "he's worried about you".

"So he went behind my back?" Reid shouted jumping to his feet, "to try and get information from you?"

"Spence you're shouting" Vimes said gently.

"I'm angry" he shot back.

"No, you're high" Vimes shook her head, "and you know that".

"What else did he tell you?" Reid demanded.

"Nothing" Vimes replied.

"You're lying".

"He only said that you'd had a bad experience. He wouldn't say what" Vimes admitted, "please sit down".

Reid dropped back onto the couch and buried his face in his hands, a wave of nausea rolled over him.

After a few minutes Vimes spoke "those are some pretty nasty mood swings you've got".

"They're getting worse" a muffled reply came, "the more dependent I am on the Dilaudid"

"You sure you don't want to quit?"

"How?" Reid asked

"Get rid of it" Vimes replied, "I'll help you".

"And go through withdrawal in the middle of a case?" Reid looked at her incredulously.

"Well what do you want me to say?" Vimes shot back, "sure Spencer go ahead and dope yourself up every night?"

"Maybe if I just use a little bit…" Reid thought out loud, he was starting to feel dizzy.

"How can someone with your IQ be so stupid?" Vimes asked, "it's never going to be a little bit, you won't have that self control".

"Well what do you propose then?" Reid snapped.

"Quit!" Vimes replied, "I'll help you with the withdrawal".

"And what happens when I have to go back to America?" Reid asked, "I'm on my own in this again".

"Tell Agent Hotchner" Vimes replied.

"What? No way" Reid shook his head, "I'm working a case Evie. I'll get fired. I can't lose this job, it's all I've got!"

"I don't think you will get fired Spence" Vimes replied, "I think Agent Hotchner will protect you".

"No" he shook his finger roughly at Vimes "you cannot tell anyone, do you understand? Not Hotch, not Morgan, not Prentiss or anybody else have you got that?"

"Yeah" Vimes replied backing away a little "I won't tell a soul. But come on Spence, I got it. How long do you think it'll take others to realise what's going on".

Reid buried his face in hands again "what do I do? What do I do?" he asked nobody in particular.

Vimes had an idea "stay here".

"What?" Reid asked.

"Stay in Australia a bit longer" Vimes replied, "you're team knows that something's going on anyway. Just tell them that you need a bit of a break away to deal with things".

Reid sighed "I can't just not go back".

"Then tell your team" Vimes replied, "tell Hotch at least".

Reid shook his head and began gnawing on his fingernails.

"Please Spence you have to stop" Vimes begged, "what if next time you take too much and end up in a body bag?"

Reid looked at Vimes "do you hate her?"

Vimes stared at him "what?"

"You're Mom" Reid said, "the hotel manager and his wife told me…"

"Oh for Christ's sake" Vimes put her hand to her forehead.

"I'm sorry".

"Doesn't anybody know when to keep their bloody mouths shut?" Vimes groaned.

"I'm so sorry" Reid said a lump forming in his throat, "if it makes you feel better I had to send my Mom to an asylum".

"What?" Vimes look at him with belief, "why would that make me feel better?"

"It's a figure of speech isn't it?" Reid asked, his brain felt a little muddled.

"Well don't use it" Vimes said "okay?"

"Mmm-hmm" Reid closed his eyes.

"Spencer what's wrong?" he heard Vimes' voice demand urgently.

"Nothin'm sleepy" Reid slurred.

"Fuck! You're lips are turning blue!"

Reid giggled "you shouldn't swear".

"Oh no no no" Vimes gasped, "Spence how much did you take?"

"I don't know" he murmured and began to slump forward.

He felt someone catch him and lower him to the ground.

"Oh shit, oh shit! Spence open your eyes!"

He whimpered.

The sound someone shouting his name began to fade away with the last vestiges of consciousness.

For a moment Spencer Reid almost thought he heard Jason Gideon call out to him.

* * *

_Uh-oh I'll leave you hanging there._

_I feel I should also mention (just in case anyone from Collingwood reads this) that Smith Street has been cleaned up now and is actually kinda nice but when I was a kid, oh man that's not really an exaggeration there._

_See you in a week or so!_


	11. Tailspin or Freefalling?

_Hi everyone! I'm on top of my report so I thought I might add the next chapter._

_Before I say anything else though, first episode of season 3… Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! OMFG!!! Gideon nooooooo! I thought I was being nasty was my cliffie. Do they _want_ me to have a stroke?! _

_Also just a quick wooooo-hooooo GO CATS! Totally kicked Port Adelaide's sorry behind in the Grand Final does the happy dance_

_Anyways back to the story…_

_Foxyladyhubbards__: Yeah I know I'm so mean which is bad coz I wuv Reid soooo much. Don't stress though, even though he aint out of the woods yet things'll get better. Cross my heart.__  
__Hope06__: Awww you always make me smile :-D _

_Tearbos__: Yep Reid can't hide it anymore. Did you like the premiere? I think you can tell what I thought from my reaction above huh?_

_brihana25__: Thank-you :-) It's great to hear that you like both Evie and the plot. I feel the same way about original characters so I was a bit worried about putting her in, she was a character that I just needed to get written down though. Thanks!_

_LestatHughLover__: Ahh don't die! I'm sorry I had to leave it there, I hope I didn't give you a stroke! As soon as I wrote that bit between Evie and Reid I went 'yeah that's cool'. I'm doing my best to keep Reid's habit quiet but as realistically as possible so unfortunately yeah people are gonna find out._

_Ryuzaki__: Don't worry even in my twisted little mind I could never bring myself to kill Reid hugs Reid never ever ever!_

_blackpanther2288__: yup a few people find out this chapter, hope you enjoy it :-)_

_And so on with the show!_

* * *

It was a strange sensation. 

It was like floating.

No.

More like falling, tumbling through space slowly.

It was like the feeling one gets when they're finally drifting off to sleep.

The feeling of suddenly falling, crashing into the bed, only this was slower.

A slow motion hypnagogic jerk.

He fell until he found himself settled softly on something that was stiff and perhaps not as soft as he would have liked.

The strands of fog around his mind began to dissipate and sounds could be heard.

As the mist cleared he could distinguish words.

"… _a young Squire,  
A lover and a lusty bachelor;  
With locks curled, as they were laid in press.  
Of twenty year of age he was, I guess.  
Of his stature he was of even length,  
And wonderly delyvere, and of greet strength.  
And he had been sometime in chivalry  
In Flanders, in Artois, and Picardy  
And born him well, as of so little space,  
In hope to stand in his lady's grace…"_

Spencer Reid slowly opened his eyes, the melodic prose stopped.

He turned his head and tried to ignore the thudding pain that had come with it.

Evie Vimes looked sat beside him a concerned look on her face, a heavy book that he had seen in her car earlier that day lay on her lap.

"Chaucer" he murmured.

"Canterbury Tales" she said with a gentle smile.

"My Mom used to read Chaucer to me" he croaked, his throat felt tacky.

"I know" Vimes nodded, "the Squire, he almost sounds a bit like you does he not?"

"I've been mistaken for a Knight of the Round Table too".

"…okaaay."

"Long story".

"I'll bet" Vimes smiled a little.

"Where am I?" Reid asked.

"The hospital"

"Did I…" he trailed off.

"Yeah you overdosed" came the quiet reply.

Reid shut his eyes "you brought me here?"

"Yeah"

"Thank-you."

"I had help" Vimes said.

Reid opened his eyes to look at her again.

"Agent Hotchner- he was still awake. He heard me scream".

Reid winced.

"Yeah it's that bad" Vimes nodded, "you're a stupid git you know that?"

"I know" he replied wondering what a 'git' was, he had a feeling it meant that he was an idiot.

"You could have _died_" her voice trembled, it was obvious she was still shaken up.

"I'm sorry" Reid whimpered.

"Yeah everyone's bloody sorry! But it doesn't change things does it? You can't undo the damage you've caused!" Vimes clenched her fists in anger.

"Are we still talking about me?" Reid enquired.

"Yes and no".

"Your Mom" Reid guessed.

"Yeah" Vimes ran her fingers through her hair, "sometimes I just wish my mother didn't regret what she had done. It would make it so much easier to accept what happened, eliminate the 'what if?' I suppose".

Reid nodded sympathetically and winced as the slight movement sent another wave of pain raging through his head.

"You okay?"

"Ugh I feel awful" Reid moaned.

"Serves you right" Vimes said trying to sound stern, "I don't know what possessed you to put that junk in your system".

"I started using-" Reid began

"You don't have to tell me" Vimes interrupted, "I don't care so long as you stop".

"No Evie please" Reid's voice cracked, "I need you to understand why".

* * *

"Good night" 

"Yeah good night" Morgan nodded as Emily Prentiss shut her hotel door.

He wandered down the hall to his hotel room then stopped.

He looked past his room to the end of the hall.

He wasn't tired.

Maybe he should go check on Reid, see if he could get the kid to let him in on what was wrong.

Morgan walked to Reid's room and frowned.

The door was wide open.

He stepped in and looked around, not a soul present.

Backing out of the room he quickly made his way to Hotch's door.

He knocked twice and after no answer he took out his cell.

"Hotchner".

"Reid's gone" Morgan said, "please tell me you're with him".

"Yeah I am" his voice sounded strained.

"What's going on?" Morgan felt his pulse quicken, something was very wrong.

There was silence on the other line.

"Hotch" Morgan pressed.

"I can't really talk right now Morgan".

"Is Reid alright?" Morgan demanded,

"He will be" was the curt reply.

"Where are you?" Morgan said walking back to his own room and lowering his voice, "I am sick of everybody cutting me out".

"…the hospital" Hotch admitted. He knew he could trust Morgan with this.

Derek Morgan stiffened and felt his blood run cold, a million reasons for why they were at the hospital ran through his mind.

"What happened?" Morgan whispered.

There was a sigh "accidental overdose".

Morgan flinched but felt relieved at the 'accidental', "oh man. How do I get there?"

"You don't" Hotch said in a gentler tone, "he's going to be fine, just get some sleep. Don't tell anyone" he added as an afterthought.

There was a click and Morgan gently placed the phone on the bedside table.

Quietly Morgan opened the hotel room door and walked back to Reid's room.

He knelt down beside the suitcase which had various items of clothing poking out of it.

Then Morgan turned his head and saw something he had not seen before.

A small kit lay on the floor, it had been hidden from view by the bed.

He opened the kit and held up the small vial as if to study it.

He threw it down and stood back up.

With a pained and frustrated cry he slammed his fist into the door.

* * *

Aaron Hotchner stood in the visitor's bathroom of the hospital. 

He splashed water on his face and stared at himself in the mirror watching the water drip down his weary features.

How could he not have seen this?

Of course part of him had suspected… but it was Reid, he'd never thought…_but he should have_. He should have been prepared for anything.

'Everybody reacts to trauma in an individual way' he thought, 'of course PTSD has it's symptoms but you cannot predict every part of a person's behaviour'.

He flinched as he remembered bursting into Reid's room when he had heard Vimes' scream.

The girl had tried her best to put Reid in the recovery position but she was only tiny and the gangly Reid had gone completely limp.

He had been so still…

Hotch hadn't panicked.

Oh yes he had felt the terror rise in the pit of his stomach but he had pushed it down. There would be time for that later.

Instead he had scooped up the unconscious boy in his arms and said bluntly to Vimes "car. Now".

Vimes had coped well under the pressure he thought, she was extremely distressed but with careful haste she had driven to the hospital.

Pushing the door open he walked back out into the corridor giving a grateful nod to the doctor who walked past.

It was the woman who was treating Reid.

Hotch had stared at the doctor in disbelief when she had informed him that as overdoses go, it wasn't a bad one.

His agent would be discharged by morning.

It had taken a while for the news to sink in. When it did, Hotch had felt a wave of relief wash over him and had made a silent prayer that Jack never do anything like this in years to come.

He wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle that.

"Here" a voice said behind him, "you look like you need it".

Hotch turned and took the coffee from Detective Inspector Jacobson with a weak smile "thank-you".

Vimes had contacted the man when they had gotten to the hospital "we'll need his help to keep it quiet" she explained.

Hotch was grateful for this, if it somehow got back to the bureau Reid would almost certainly loose his job.

"I'm sorry" Hotch felt he should take responsibility, "this won't affect the case. I promise you".

Jacobson gave an understanding nod "so long as the young fella gets back on his feet I'm not fussed".

Hotch rubbed his face "I should have known he was…"

"Oh we all think that in hindsight" Jacobson dismissed the thought with a wave, "it's the curse of a parent".

"As a profiler I should have seen it".

"Aaron" Jacobson said leaning against the corridor wall, "I have been a Police Officer for 35 years and a father for 32. I have seen drug overdoses, suicide attempts, marriages, break ups, fights, murder, manslaughter, recklessness, misery and a damn lot more from kids Reid's age and younger, including my own. You have no idea the amount of grief Evie's given me and don't even get me started on the twins".

Hotch looked at him.

"The one thing I've discovered" Jacobson continued, "is that some of them are bloody good at hiding things. You might think everything's just fine and dandy then you're being called into the police station because your son's been shoplifting or the school counsellor tells you that your daughter is anorexic. That's when you find out just how far they've fallen".

"And then what?" Hotch asked.

"Then you find a way to help them" Jacobson said, "because they need you".

* * *

"He tried to make me dig but I was too weak, so he took his coat off, threw it on the ground. I could see the flashlights behind him, when he turned around to see what I was looking at I grabbed the gun from his coat…" 

Vimes sat still, her face growing whiter and whiter as Reid told her what had happened with Tobias Hankel and everything that had followed.

When he finished he saw that Vimes' eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"Please don't cry" Reid said to her but this only made the silent tears begin to flow.

"Oh God" she finally whispered and clutched his hand, "Spence. I wish I could've been there to help you".

"You're helping me now" Reid managed a small smile, "at least I'm asking you to".

"Then say it".

"I want to quit" Reid replied firmly, "for good this time"

Vimes wiped away her tears "I'm here for you".

The curtain was pushed back and Hotch walked through.

He gave Vimes a look that clearly said "leave", she turned to Reid who gave a slight nod.

Vimes got up and left after giving Reid's hand an encouraging squeeze.

Hotch stepped out from behind the curtain and gently held her wrist "we both know what would have happened it you weren't there" he whispered, "thank-you".

Vimes nodded with a brave smile and he released her.

Hotch slowly lowered himself into Vimes' recently vacated chair and stared straight ahead, a stony expression on his face.

"It's worse when you don't say anything" Reid said quietly.

"How long?" Hotch asked curtly

"Since Georgia" Reid replied. There was no point evading answers now.

Hotch nodded "I suppose that explains a lot" he closed his eyes for a moment, "and Gideon knew?"

"I told him after New Orleans" Reid said, "he helped me quit. I started using again after he left"

"Why?" Hotch managed to keep the desperation out of his voice.

Reid turned away for a moment "it hurt. I felt so alone".

"You should have told me".

"No I couldn't tell you" Reid said with a pained expression "you can't imagine the shame I felt Hotch, and I couldn't bear to see you disappointed in me".

"Why didn't you tell anybody else?" Hotch asked, "like Morgan or J.J?"

"They might have walked away as well" Reid said bitterly.

Hotch nodded again. Reid was upset but this was progress, he was opening up.

"Evie said I should tell you" Reid said quietly.

"Well I know now" Hotch said patiently, "so talk to me".

"Do the others know?"

"Morgan does, Jacobson too".

Reid cringed, already dreading the next time he saw Morgan.

"Does anybody else on the team have to know?" Reid asked quietly.

"This can't be a secret any longer Reid" Hotch told him gently, "you won't recover if you hide it away".

"Please don't tell anybody else. At least wait until this case is finished" Reid begged, 'I won't touch the Dilaudid again I promise".

Hotch sighed "Reid you're bargaining".

Reid turned his gaze to the ceiling and a tear rolled down his cheek.

Hotch's shoulders sagged, if he lost Reid's trust now he would have no hope of helping him.

"Alright" Hotch finally gave in, "but when you're discharged in the morning, we destroy the Dilaudid understood?"

Reid nodded gratefully.

"Try and get some rest" Hotch said rising, "I won't be far away. I can send Evie back in here if you like"

Reid nodded and winced at the pain, he really had to stop moving his head "thanks Hotch".

Hotch's reply was terse but had a tinge of affection, "don't ever scare me like that again".

* * *

It was early morning and the sun was yet to rise. 

Keith Cooper drove along the Hume on his way to market.

Cooper had been a produce farmer his whole life, his family had been growing vegetables for generations.

Now with the drought things were getting tough, the crop that sat in his Ute was pitiful compared to what his father had used to grow.

Still it was all he had, Cooper wondered if perhaps he should sell the farm and start anew.

All of a sudden there was an almighty bang and the Ute swerved to the side of the road, Cooper slammed on the breaks with a cry of surprise.

Pulling into the rest stop Cooper hopped out and examined his Ute, the front left tyre had burst. He kicked it with frustration and went to get the spare tyre.

In the passenger seat Cooper's Blue Heeler, the unimaginatively named Bluey began to whine and scratch at the door.

"Bloody dog" Cooper growled, he opened the passenger side door and the dog jumped out, bolting into the bushes.

Cooper had almost finished changing the tyre when Bluey began to bark.

Cooper whistled for his dog to return but it kept barking.

Concerned he grabbed the shovel he kept in his Ute and jogged over in the direction of the barking, it could be a snake and he didn't want it to hurt Bluey.

When Cooper found his dog he saw it nosing a patch of earth "what are you doing?"

Then he saw what it had uncovered "oh my God".

* * *

_So Reid's gonna be okay people yay!_

_Tune in next time for another exciting installment :-)_


	12. Let Me In Where Your Thoughts Have Been

_Ah here I am again with another chapter! Sorry it's taken a while, chapters will be few and far between during October because of my thesis but after that I'm freeeee!_

_Oooh Haley Hotchner you two-timing jezebel! Don't you think your oh-so-smart-fantastically-brilliant husband knows the old 'hang up if a man answers and ring my mobile' routine? Shame! Shame! Shame! I never would've given you that brief scene if I knew you'd ditch Hotch, girl you'll never do better. Anyway now that I've ranted about that- oh and EVERYONE knew about Reid's drug habit? I thought Hotch suspected…and the letter was addressed to 'Spencer' okay everybody say it with me "awww!" slaps herself focus on the story at hand Moni!_

_LestatHughLover:__ Oh honey I'm not sugar-coating that withdrawal by any means, it'll probably result in a mob of fangirls waving pitchforks arriving at my door but hugs Reid it's only coz I wuv him!_

_Hope06: __I wrote two different versions of this chapter, one where Morgan spat the dummy and one where he went all big brother. I chose the latter because I thought my pissed-off Morgan was OTT, so hope you like this version :-) Reid's gonna open up a little more each chapter depending on how his team-mates deal with his problem_

_Tearbos:__ Hee this week (coz I have to watch it on my PC) my brother came in to find me hugging the computer at the bit where Reid was waiting for Gideon to play chess with him. Sooo cute! Yeah I didn't want Reid to get yelled at by people, it doesn't help and he's already got self-loathing going on._

_Ryuzaki:__ I love writing this, it's my stress relief!_

_blackpanther2288:__ Ah sorry the talk wasn't very long between Reid and Hotch, but I want the big turning point to come a little later (and I wanted it to involve at least Morgan, maybe even Prentiss). Oh I was glad to see you were right about Gideon, committing suicide would've been so wrong to do to Reid._

_Mog:__ Hello! Uh yes the woolshed um cough seven stiches and a broken wrist – don't ever jump up and down on the roof of a rusty tin shed, the wool doesn't really break your fall. __Oh don't worry I tossed away the idea of a romance long, long ago. I love the Evie/Reid friendship too much! Yeah if I do write a sequel (don't know if I will or not) Evie won't be working in the BAU that's too much of a stretch even for me. She'd either be within another agency or a student at the FBI Academy training to be a Special Agent (actually I like that idea, she and Reid could still hang out). Glad you like how I'm handling the story._

_

* * *

_Many times in Dr. Evie Vimes life she had heard the expression 'they look so peaceful' applied to the dead. 

She was yet to see this peacefulness that was so often described.

Vimes looked at the body of a young woman lying in a shallow grave in front of her while forensic officers bustled around the scene.

It wasn't the deep slash across the throat or the stab wound to the chest that bothered her.

It was the face.

Expressionless and emotionless, completely devoid of life, the capacity to think, feel and act stolen away.

How that could be perceived as peaceful was beyond her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" Evie Vimes said gently to the young woman she knelt beside.

Reid hung back in the shade of a tree and watched his friend with interest, the girl's compassion for the dead was poignant.

He leaned against the tree to steady himself.

Although the hospital had discharged him he was still feeling ill.

The doctor who had treated him had given him some mild analgesics to help with the withdrawal symptoms but had warned him they were not to be taken only if he was in severe pain.

Hotch had taken the analgesics and slipped him into his coat pocket.

Reid's heart had sunk. Hotch didn't trust him, that was certain in his mind.

Reid took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his brow.

The morning was already heating up so the shade Reid was standing in did little to cool him down, every breath he drew in seemed to burn his lungs.

Turning his head away from the body Reid looked at the rest of the crime scene.

The entire rest stop had been sectioned off.

Hotch stood a little way away speaking quietly with Jacobson.

Prentiss and Senior Sergeant Evans were talking to the farmer who had found the body.

The man sat desolate on a picnic bench absently stroking his dog.

He couldn't see Morgan but Reid knew he was up by the road.

As far away from him as possible.

Reid hoped that was just his own paranoia, but he knew Morgan was upset.

When he, Hotch and Vimes had gotten back to the hotel people had still been asleep much to Reid's relief, he didn't want to face anyone.

It was bad enough having Hotch's eyes boring into the back of his head while he poured the Dilaudid down the sink.

After a shower and a clean change of clothes, with the exception of Vimes whose clean clothes were at her own hotel ("I'm going to spend the day smelling like a hospital aren't I?"), they had headed down to breakfast.

Morgan and Prentiss soon joined them at the table.

Morgan said nothing to Reid, only giving him a brief nod of acknowledgment.

Between the small talk about the case a staring game began.

Reid would look at Morgan. Morgan would look at Hotch. Hotch would look at Vimes. Vimes would look at Reid.

Then Morgan would look at Reid. Reid would look at Vimes. Vimes would look at Hotch. Hotch would look at Morgan.

It would've been funny, if only it weren't so awkward.

After a while Reid realised that the fifth person at their table had joined the game.

Prentiss looked at Reid. She looked at Hotch. She looked at Vimes. She looked at Morgan.

The frown on her face grew deeper and deeper.

The game ended with a chorus of phone ring tones each bearing the same message.

'Another body has been found'.

"You should have stayed at your hotel room" Vimes interrupted Reid's thoughts.

"I'm fine" he replied.

"That's bull. I thought you were going to cut that out now" she said without taking her gaze of the body.

"Alright I feel terrible" Reid admitted crouching down beside Vimes, "but at least let me do my job before I get worse".

Vimes nodded, she wasn't looking forward to the withdrawal. She didn't want to see Reid in pain but she knew this was the only way for him to recover.

"I'm worried" Vimes turned to him.

"You're only worried now?" Reid asked.

"Oh shut up, you know what I mean" she said half-teasingly, "there was less time between the fourth murder and this murder. The cooling off period's getting shorter".

"We only just found Oddsson" Reid shook his head, "it's all over the news, maybe he wants to further sensationalise the case".

"Or maybe he's devolving" Hotch said from behind them causing Reid to jump.

"Are you alright?" Hotch eyed Reid suspiciously. He had wanted Reid to stay at the hotel but was worried about leaving him alone.

"You'll know when I'm not fit to be out here" Reid replied evenly.

Hotch nodded "I know".

"Hotch!" Morgan waved the senior agent over.

Reid and Vimes exchanged glances and wandered over to where Morgan was standing.

"This is what caused the flat tyre" Morgan said holding up a twisted piece of metal in his gloved hands.

"I hate those things" Vimes frowned as she looked at it "they're so cruel".

"A fox trap" Jacobson nodded, "you don't put that on the road by accident".

Hotch turned to the body "he wanted us to find her as soon as possible".

* * *

The police station buzzed with activity. 

Senior Sergeant Ploughton was on the warpath.

While he was normally fairly benevolent he was also a man who hated the idea of someone getting the better of him.

A murder that occurred in an area that swarmed with police sent his blood boiling.

It was no wonder that some of the younger constables drew cartoons of him where steam came out of his ears.

Jacobson had the pictures in his email inbox although he'd never admit to it.

"I want witnesses, anybody who saw anything strange last night, I don't care whether it was a prowler or the bloody Easter Bunny" Senior Sergeant Ploughton barked at the police officers "find me anything".

"Easter's not for a few months sir".

"Shut up Vimes".

"Find out who this girl is and where she was before she disappeared" Jacobson added ignoring the exchange.

"If we know approximately where she was abducted from we should be able to set up a perimeter judging by the distance between there and where we found her" Prentiss added heading into the conference room where the map was set up.

"We need time of death as soon as possible too" Vimes nodded.

"I'll call J.J and tell her what's happened" Morgan said, Reid gave a start.

"Tell her not to say anything about the victim in the press until we have more to go on" Hotch said with a nod, Reid visibly relaxed.

There was a flurry of blue uniforms darting back and forth and the dull roar of many voices talking at once.

"Sarge there's press outside" one constable remarked to Ploughton

"Tell them to piss off".

"That's our official statement is it?"

"I told the Commissioner no more press!" Jacobson said exasperated.

"We need to keep this quiet" Hotch said to Jacobson, "can we tell them not to release this information? I don't want the unsub getting any recognition"

"I'll try but I can't make any promises" Jacobson and leaned closer to Hotch, "tell your boy to have a lie down in the tea room where it's quiet" he added softly glancing at Reid.

The young agent was rubbing his temples, the loud noise was not helping the killer headache he had developed.

"Are you alright?" Hotch asked quietly, Reid nodded weakly.

"Headache?" Vimes enquired

"Mmm-hmm" Reid nodded squeezing his eyes shut.

"I've got paracetamol in my glove box" Vimes said, "hang on a tic and I'll get some for you".

Reid leaned against a wall and groaned as Vimes disappeared down the corridor.

"Rest for now" Hotch said steering him to the tea room, "I'm going to need you later on".

* * *

In the conference room Emily Prentiss was scrutinising the large map. The places where all the victims disappeared and the sites that their bodies had been found were marked. 

Though her thoughts weren't focused on the map.

She was thinking back to the morning at the breakfast table.

The weary, worried faces had told her something terrible had happened while she was sleeping.

The looks exchanged had been mixtures of grief, concern, guilt and sometimes strangely enough, relief.

What had worried her the most though was Reid's ashen complexion, she'd seen more colour in the faces of murder victims.

Growing up an only child Prentiss never had any siblings to rely on or protect but that morning some long dormant instinct had kicked in and for the first time she felt an overwhelming urge to take care of the younger agent.

Still she had to focus, the case was important and she still had her issues with Strauss.

"You know it's never more than an hour drive from Eurora" Prentiss said out loud, "the places where he buries the bodies. He's here or in a neighbouring town".

"I know" Hotch's voice sounded behind her, "we'll find him".

Prentiss turned around to face Hotch and studied him, he seemed exhausted "you look like you've slept in a chair sir".

"I haven't" Hotch replied smoothly, 'I haven't slept at all' he added silently.

"I know something's going on" Prentiss said, "with Reid. What's happened?"

"It's private and it's not up for discussion right now" Hotch shook his head moving forward to study the map.

"Right" Prentiss replied, "so we're just going to pretend that everything is fine?"

"I'm not" Hotch said calmly as he looked at the map, "but don't think I haven't noticed you pretending that everything's fine".

Prentiss didn't say anything.

"Let me know when you're ready to talk" Hotch finally spoke.

Prentiss nodded "I'm just going to get some fresh air".

* * *

Vimes fished around in the glove book of her car and told herself that she'd need it clean it out soon. 

While looking for the paracetamol she had found an old bag of jelly babies, several expired passes for her apartment's car park and a ticket from the Big Day Out, 2004.

"Ah the day I broke my thumbs in the Mosh pit" Vimes laughed to herself.

She had managed to get close to the stage while Muse played, people had crushed against her and with all the jumping her shoes had come off, absent-mindedly she had reached down to get them…

…she had spent the next hour with her hands in buckets of ice while her foster brother dug through the enormous shoe pile looking for the pair that belonged to her.

It had been a good reminder to always think before she acted.

"Excuse me? Dr. Vimes?"

Startled Vimes jumped and bumped her head on the car roof "son of a-".

"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you" a voice apologised.

Rubbing her head Vimes turned to the source of the voice and saw standing behind her a handsome man in stiff collared shirt and business pants "can I help you?"

The man took out his 'Press' identification, Vimes realised she had seen him before.

He was one of the vultures swooping over every crime scene, "I was hoping I might be able to interview you about the Hume Murders".

"I'm sorry Mr uh-"

"Anders" the man said holding out his hand, "Marcus Anders. I work for the local paper".

"Mr. Anders" Vimes said without shaking his hand, "I'm not at liberty to discuss this case with the media".

"So you won't confirm that a fifth body was found this morning?"

"No" Vimes said shutting the car door, "if you'll please excuse me-"

"But you're a forensic psychologist yes?" Anders pressed, "surely you can give me some information about what goes on in this killer's mind?"

"No I can't" Vimes said politely.

"Hear me out" Anders said stepping closer to Vimes, "this story is all over the big papers, yet it's happening in our backyard. Don't you think the local people deserve a bit of insight?"

"I'm sorry I can't discuss this case" Vimes repeated a little more firmly.

"Fine, fine" Anders said with a smile, "no skin off my nose. I can always print a story about a lovers' spat".

"You do that" Vimes said turning away.

"One that happened in a coffee shop just the other day" Anders called out.

Vimes stopped and looked at Anders curiously.

"There I am just having a cappuccino when low and behold two young profilers walk in" Anders continued with a smile, "camera phones are fantastic aren't they? I've got a brilliant shot of you slapping your American beau".

"We are not lovers" Vimes glared at the journalist, "you're taking that completely out of context".

"The picture says otherwise Dr. Vimes" Anders said smugly, "do you think the public would like to know how hard you people are working on catching this killer or just how distracted you are?"

Vimes opened her mouth in disbelief.

"Excuse me?" Prentiss called out as she walked towards Vimes and Anders, "I'm sorry did I overhear you trying to blackmail Dr. Vimes and an American Federal Agent?"

"Nobody's blackmailing anybody Miss" Anders replied innocently.

"It's Agent Prentiss actually" Prentiss said crisply, "and I know what I heard. I also know that being charged with blackmail could put you in prison for some time".

"I'm not afraid of being punished for my work" Anders said evenly, "but I'll leave you to consider that Dr. Vimes".

"Thank-you" Vimes whispered to Prentiss after the man had left

"No problem. I know what it's like to be put in that kind of position" Prentiss replied.

"Oh?"

"Yeah and I hate it" Prentiss said shaking her head.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Vimes asked

"Look I don't know you well enough to be discussing this" Prentiss told her.

Vimes nodded "you're a good person Emily. I'm sure you'll do whatever you know to be right".

* * *

Morgan hung up the phone with a smile. 

Even though he had been delivering sad new to J.J the young woman had been warm and encouraging.

He'd kept his promise to Hotch and been silent about Reid's overdose but J.J was no fool, she knew something had happened just by the tone of his voice.

Morgan looked at the tea room door.

He'd seen Reid go in there and Vimes had gone in with what seemed to be aspirin.

The entire night he'd been fuming, pacing up and down in his room. He hadn't been sure of whom he was angrier with, Reid for doing something so stupid in the first place or Gideon for keeping such a dangerous problem a secret.

In the morning Morgan realised that he was no longer angry at Reid.

He'd never been able to stay angry long at his sisters after an argument and Reid was no different.

'Something inside you just makes you forgive the mistakes your little brother's made' he thought to himself.

But when he had seen Reid sitting pale and despondent at the breakfast table he just…he just didn't know what to say.

So he had spent the morning avoiding Reid, but he knew he couldn't do that anymore.

Derek Morgan gingerly pushed the door of the tea room open.

Vimes looked up with a soft smile and held a finger to her lips.

The youngest member of the BAU was balled up on the couch, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Is he alright?" Morgan asked quietly

"Leave me alone I'm dying!" Reid moaned.

"He's got a bit of a headache" Vimes replied softly, "he'll be better once the paracetamol kicks in".

Vimes picked up the hint that he'd like to speak to Reid alone, she rose to her feet "I'd better help out in the conference room for a bit".

Morgan nodded "I'll look after him".

Reid groaned again as Vimes left.

"What? You think I can't baby-sit you man?" Morgan frowned.

"You're going to yell at me" Reid mumbled.

"No, I don't think that's going to do any good do you?" Morgan asked.

"It would make my headache worse" Reid replied honestly, "and I'm not a baby by the way".

A brief smile flickered across Morgan's face "yeah I know".

"You are mad at me aren't you?" Reid said opening his eyes and looking at his friend.

"No Reid" Morgan replied, "but I am hurt. I thought you would've talked to me".

Reid turned his gaze away "do you remember two years ago I told you about the nightmares I was having?"

"Yeah" Morgan nodded, "did you think I'd tell Hotch and Gideon about this as well?"

"No I-" Reid sighed, "I thought you'd say you couldn't help me again".

"I didn't say that" Morgan shook his head, "I just knew that Gideon would be able to help you like he helped me".

"Well Gideon's gone!" Reid snapped and he buried his face in the couch pillow.

"Yeah and like I told you before we're all upset about that" Morgan said gently, "so we're all in this together. No more shutting us out alright?"

Reid nodded weakly "we'd better go into the conference room".

"You sure you're okay?" Morgan said helping him up.

"Not really" Reid said shakily, "but I've got to help the team right?"

* * *

_Hmm I hope that's not too cutesy a chapter I just couldn't seem to get it to my liking no matter how I swung it. Ah well, see ya all next chapter :-)_


	13. Tears and Cake

Hello everybody! I've finished uni! I'm a real bonafide criminologist yipee! And Australia's got a new Prime Minister now, the times they are a changin'.

Apologies to you all for taking so long to update this story, it's been a bit of a difficult time for me and for a while I felt too sad to write the story properly, but knowing that you all are hanging out for an update makes me feel quite special and also very mean because it's now December and I promised you guys a chapter at the end of October!

Anyways thank-you to everybody who has reviewed, Hope06,tearbos,LestatHughLover, Ryuzaki, courtyxxx,

Lessien-Calafalas: Wow that was like the second episode wasn't it? I just kinda thought the way Hotch was talking to Prentiss made it sound like Reid's addiction was general knowledge in the team

blackpanther2288: Hee you think the reporter's the unsub? Maybe, maybe not :-) I don't want to say much because it'll give away the plot.

Mog: Thanks for the gentle prodding to get me updating again. Hope I do not disappoint :-)

On with the story!

* * *

On today of all days the air-conditioning in the conference room of the police station broke. 

The windows had all been flung open but the conference room was still sticky and uncomfortable for its occupants.

Hotch had removed his tie and rolled up his sleeves despite the lightweight fabric of his shirt.

Evans in his uniform must have been hot but seemed nonchalant about the heat, only dabbing his brow with a handkerchief every now and then.

Prentiss and Jacobson were both fanning themselves with their notes.

Morgan took a sip of the Coca Cola he had gotten from the vending machine. He looked in disbelief at Reid and Vimes who were thumbing through the case file – again.

Despite the blistering heat Reid was sipping a cup of hot coffee while Vimes was drinking herbal tea.

Vimes had actually made the tea for Reid who refused it and made himself a coffee instead.

They had then argued over the side-effects of caffeine for a few minutes before Morgan broke it up.

"Okay so we're going on the premise that the unsub lives within at most a 65 mile radius of Eurora" Hotch said to the group collected in the conference room.

"Just a reminder, you're in Australia" Evans said with a grin, "what's that in kilometres?"

"104.6" Reid and Vimes replied in unison without looking up from the case file.

Morgan grinned.

"Child prodigies" Jacobson laughed, "every household should have one".

"Do you want me to continue doing your tax returns or not?" Vimes scowled.

"Alright, alright" Jacobson held his hands up in surrender, "moody little bugger".

Reid smiled sadly, seeing the gentle chiding banter between Vimes and Jacobson reminded him of how much he missed his own mentor.

"So basically anywhere between Seymour and Wangaratta, which even includes Puckapunyal" Evans frowned.

"Well you can search there if you like" Vimes said, "but personally the 'Unauthorised Persons Beyond This Point Will Be Shot' signs put me just a little on edge".

There was a knock at the door and two Constables fresh from patrol walked in.

"What've we got?" Evans the two Constables

"Nothing" one replied joining her finger and thumb to make a '0'.

"Well not exactly" the other replied, "we've answered another call to a robbery".

"Mmm" Evans nodded, "that makes it six this month".

"Somebody's taking advantage of police attention being focused elsewhere" Vimes shook her head.

"I'll talk to you about that in a minute" Evans informed the Constables

"Excuse me?" another Constable poked his head in the room, "I thought you might like to know there's a woman on the phone".

"Yes what does she want?" Jacobson asked.

"She rang to say she saw a girl who was hitchhiking get into a panel van last night" the Constable continued, "she described this morning's Jane Doe".

"Tell her that we're coming to speak to her" Hotch said rising and gesturing to Prentiss to follow him, "Reid and Morgan, I need you and Dr. Vimes to go over the coroner's report as soon as you can".

"Actually can I stay and look over the coroner's report?" Prentiss asked.

Hotch looked at her, it was amazing how much somebody could say with their eyes.

Hotch's eyes said _I know you want to find out what's wrong with Reid but do not push him_.

Prentiss gave the slightest of nods

"I'll go" Morgan said rising and giving Reid an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

* * *

Ruby McLeod was an old widower and enthusiastic member of the Country Women's Association. 

Although she was elderly, it by no means slowed her down. She lived on her own, she did her own shopping, she drove her own car and she had won the 1st prize in sultana cake at the CWA Bake Sale the last seven years running.

Right now she was handing slices of the prized cake to Hotch, Morgan and Jacobson.

"Thank-you" Hotch said politely taking his piece from the old woman.

"Now" Ruby said sitting down in her favourite chair, "I was driving home in the evening, I'd been having coffee with Ethel Turner to discuss this year's bake sale. It's important to keep spirits up in times like this, especially for the farmers. Did you know we're having a terrible drought Agent Morgan?"

Morgan nodded sympathetically "and what happened when you were driving?"

Ruby took a sip of her tea "I saw a young lady walking along the side of the road and I thought to myself 'oh no dear that's far too dangerous at a time like this' and I decided to pull over and offer her a lift".

"That was very good of you" Hotch observed.

"Well I wish I was a faster driver" Ruby lamented, "because a dark- I think perhaps black or dark blue panel van overtook me and pulled up beside her".

"You can't be sure of the colour?" Morgan asked gently.

"I wish I could dear but no not in that light" Ruby replied.

"Go on Ruby" Jacobson urged.

"Yes well I pulled over as well" Ruby continued, "but the young lady had already gotten into the van and it moved away"

Setting her teacup down she looked directly at Jacobson "Fred I've known you since were a boy so be honest with me. When I went into town this morning I heard rumours about another victim, was it her?"

Jacobson sighed and nodded "yes it was".

Ruby's eyes glistened with unshed tears and she bit her lip "oh my goodness".

"Now Ruby" Morgan leaned over and gingerly touched her hand "there was nothing you could have done to save that girl but you may have helped us save a lot of others".

Ruby nodded and brushed away her tears "oh I hope so. It's such a terrible thing".

She took a deep breath and decided to focus on other things "how's that mob of yours Fred?"

"Good, good. Daniel got married last year, Luke got promoted to Senior Constable and Evie's down here working on the case" Jacobson replied.

Pity flickered in Ruby's eyes when Evie was mentioned, she remembered the first time she saw the haunted young girl after her father's murder. There had been a perpetual sadness around her that never quite disappeared.

"Thank-you very much for your help Mrs. McLeod" Hotch said shaking her hand.

Ruby nodded with a firm smile and began to clear the plates away.

She eyed one particularly polished off plate "would you like to take some cake back with you Agent Morgan?"

Morgan smiled "Ruby you just made my day".

* * *

Vimes stared at the copy of the coroner's report in her hands. 

There wasn't much it told them that they didn't already know.

Stab wound to the heart, slashed throat. The stab wound was the cause of death.

There were no drugs in the system and no markings to suggest the girl had been tied up but the police had already been going by the premise that the unsub held his victims at gunpoint to subdue them.

Time of death was approximately 9-10pm, Vimes wondered what time the witness had seen the hitchhiker. That would tell them something.

However at the moment Vimes was more concerned with the black clouds that were drawing in, figuratively speaking.

Prentiss and Reid sat opposite each other continuing the staring game from the morning.

Prentiss didn't know about the overdose but she knew something was up.

Reid was aware that she had stayed behind instead of visiting the witness because of this inkling.

Still neither of them spoke.

Vimes looked from one agent to the other, she knew an oncoming storm when she saw one.

"Stop it" Reid finally said as he flicked through the coroner's report.

Uh-oh there was the lighting.

"What?" Prentiss asked.

"Stop staring at me" he replied.

And the thunder.

"What is going on with you?" Prentiss finally challenged him, "you're snapping, you're irritable, you know if I didn't know better-"

"I'm fine" Reid snapped, "just leave me alone will you?"

"I need to know that whatever problem you have, it's not going to affect the case" Prentiss said.

"It won't" Vimes stood up for her friend.

"I'm not so sure" Prentiss said with a shake of her head, "it's enough to freak out Hotch, and Morgan too".

Here comes the rain, Vimes thought.

Reid glared at her "what is it you want?"

"I am not an idiot" Prentiss replied, "I was happy to let you deal with _your _problems by _yourself_ but now it's affecting the rest of the team".

"So what, you want to help me?" Reid practically sneered.

"We're a team I have to!"

"I don't want your help!"

Vimes placed two fingers between her lips and whistled shrilly, that always worked when her foster brothers used to argue.

Sure enough the two agents stopped yelling and glared at Vimes.

"Oh fine take it out on the referee" Vimes snapped and pointed at the closed door, "in case you haven't noticed we've kind of got an important job to do and if you keep carrying on like a two-bob watch, the people out there will think that we can't do it".

"Right, sorry" Prentiss blushed, "uh two-bob watch?"

"I'll be right back" Reid said rising.

"Sit down and shut up Spence" Vimes said bluntly.

Reid sank back into his seat sheepishly.

Vimes pinched her brow "okay look, there are a lot of things not getting said here. They don't have to be said but please just sort yourselves out enough so that you can work together".

"Why do you have a problem with me?" Prentiss asked Reid.

"I don't" Reid replied twirling his pen with his fingers like a drumstick.

"Anytime you're irritated and you snap, it's always at me" Prentiss folded her arms, "and it happens a lot".

"It's not that I have a problem with you Emily, I don't" Reid said leaning back and staring at the ceiling, "you're a good profiler".

"You just don't like me as a person"

"No- I mean yes- I mean" Reid fumbled over his words, "I do like you, but I… I know if I take my frustration out on you, you won't fight back. Well not fight back, I mean Hotch or Morgan or J.J, even Garcia, if I snapped at them, they'd try to find out what was wrong. You wouldn't, well you didn't before anyway".

Vimes scooted her chair to Reid's side and squeezed his hand to show she was proud of him making this admission.

Prentiss looked at him in surprise "uh thanks. I appreciate the honesty", she looked down at her hands "and I know you won't let whatever's going on screw things up".

Reid nodded "I won't".

"But whatever it is" Prentiss said quietly, "don't let it get out in the open. It could hurt more people than just you"

Reid and Vimes exchanged curious glances, "what do you mean?" Reid asked.

Prentiss took a deep breath, she had to tell someone "Strauss is looking for ways to get Hotch out of the BAU. So just…be on your toes okay?"

She caught sight of Vimes giving her an encouraging smile.

Reid blinked "does Hotch know about this?"

"Probably" Prentiss shrugged, "but he might not know that Strauss asked me to help her".

"So you're going behind Hotch's back?" Reid asked angrily, "ow!" he felt a sharp pain in his ankle and glared at Vimes who mouthed 'calm down'.

"No!" Prentiss said defensively, "I'm going to tell him, if he hasn't already figured it out".

Reid opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing.

"Sorry" Vimes said pulling the phone out of her pocket and looking at the caller id, she bit her lip.

"Is it Jacobson?" Prentiss asked.

"No" Vimes said quietly, "please excuse me".

* * *

Vimes stood in Evans' empty office (he was holding a meeting about the robberies) and flipped her phone open "hello". 

"Did they call you?" the weak voice on the other line asked.

"Yes they did" Vimes said tersely.

"They're making me see another psychologist about it" the voice said sadly.

"It's standard procedure" Vimes replied.

"I know, I know" her mother said, "I just wish it was somebody like you not that horrible man from last time".

"I can't treat you" Vimes informed her.

"You've treated other prisoners" her mother pointed out.

"Only male offenders" Vimes replied, "I don't see inmates at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and even if I did I couldn't treat you because you're my- we're related".

"I lost the right to be your mother years ago didn't I?" Vimes' word stumble was not missed.

"You didn't lose it, you threw it away" Vimes said with a steely tone.

There was silence on the other line.

"Yes I did" her mother finally replied, "I don't deserve to live" she added with a sigh.

"Do you want to die?" Vimes finally asked. She had never asked this before, she'd always said 'it's okay talk to the psychologist' but this familiar dance was exhausting her.

"I don't know" was the reply.

"You say you love me" Vimes said, "but what does suicide say? To me it says that that love isn't enough to keep you here, that I'm not enough to keep you here. How do you think that feels?" _It makes me sick to my stomach _Vimes thought to herself_, that's why I let you call me._

"That's not why-"

"I know but the people that are left behind will never be able to understand your reasons" Vimes cut her off, "they're just left with the pain".

"I just don't think things will ever get better for me" her mother lamented.

"They might" Vimes said bluntly.

There was a doubtful murmur of "maybe".

"If you hadn't survived, you wouldn't have been able to change you're mind later" Vimes pointed out.

"I know" her mother agreed, "it was a stupid thing to do" she admitted.

"Then enough" Vimes said, "enough now. It has to stop. I can't keep doing this".

"Doing what?"

"_This_, being the voice on the other end of the line" Vimes said a lump forming in her throat, "I want to be able to live my life. You have to let me go".

Silence.

"Mum" Vimes' voice trembled, "this is killing me. Please let me go".

"Oh sweet-pea, I know that I lost you a very long time ago" her mother begged, "but please don't say goodbye to me".

"I have to" Vimes began to weep, "please try to understand".

"I'll always love you" her mother whispered and then Vimes heard the phone click.

Vimes rested the phone against her chin and tried to blink away the tears.

Had she done the right thing? What if the next time her phone rang it was to inform her that there had been one last, successful attempt?

Vime closed her eyes and wished for the umpteenth time that her father was there.

A hand fell gently on her shoulder, Vimes spun around to face Reid and with a sob wrapped her arms around his thin frame.

"It's okay" he said soothingly holding his weeping friend, "let it out, good cry".

"Why didn't she just leave him?" Vimes cried, "if she didn't love him anymore why didn't she just leave? Why did she have to take him away from me? Why do _I_ have to be the monster now?"

Reid didn't answer, he knew there weren't any answers to give. He just hugged her tightly and let her cry until a patch of his shirt was soaked with her tears.

"Spence" Vimes whispered when the sobs had finally subsided, "I'm really glad we're friends again".

"Me too" Reid smiled, "even though you slapped me".

* * *

The sun slowly set on another day painting strokes of pink and brilliant orange across the sky. 

While some retired work for the day, others were only beginning.

Somewhere off the Hume along an old dirt road a car sat in front of a farm house hidden from view by the trees.

The driver watched the house closely and took a sip from his water bottle.

'Tomorrow' he thought to himself, 'I'll do it tomorrow'.

Then starting the car he drove away leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

* * *

Sorry it's a fairly short chapter but hey it's still a chapter :-) I'm in the process of writing the next chapie but it still needs some refining and I'll have it up asap!

Cheers all.


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